
I 

i 



JOURNALS 



OF 

EXCURSIONS 



ALPS: 

THE PENNINE, GRAIAN, COTTIAN, RHETIAN, 
LEPONTIAN, AND BERNESE. 

BY 

WILLIAM BROCKEDON, 

II''''* * 

AUTHOR OF THE "ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PASSES OF THE ALPS," &c. 



LONDON: 




JAMES DUNCAN, 37, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



1833. 



DEDICATION. 



MY DEAR STANFIELD, 

As my Companion in the first of these Excur- 
sions in the Alps, you are identified with this book, 
which will remind you of some of the magnificent 
scenes we have enjoyed together; and I offer its dedi- 
cation to you, in testimony of the sincere regard 
with which I subscribe myself, 

Dear Stanfield, 

Yours very faithfully, 

W? BBOCKEDON. 

To CLARKSON STANFIELD, Esq. 
#c. Ssc, $c. 



PREFACE. 



Within these few years the press has so 
teemed with Excursions and Journals, pub- 
lished by authors who have visited those 
lands of promise and of enjoyment to 
summer tourists — Switzerland, Savoy, and 
Italy — that the Author would scarcely have 
felt disposed to increase the number, had 
not the extraordinarv success of his " Illus- 
trations of the Passes of the Alps" shewn 
that the public interest in those scenes 
has not been diminished. Of the text 
which accompanied that work, the portion 
drawn from these Journals was confined 
chiefly to the history and topography of 
such of the Passes as it contained; hence 
some of the Author's friends, who think 
that his experience and observation may 
be useful to future travellers in the Alps, 
have persuaded him to publish his Personal 
Narrative from the Journals which he kept 
during his Excursions. In acceding to this, 



viii 



PREFACE. 



he has, perhaps too willingly, entertained 
a hope that the request of a few may also 
express the wish of many. 

These Excursions have not been alto- 
gether made over the beaten track of tour- 
ists, many of the places which the Author 
visited being scarcely known to English tra- 
vellers ; but they are so interesting, from 
the grandeur and beauty of the scenes 
which they display, or the character and 
habits of the people who dwell among 
them, that he ventures to believe his 
Journals will be found to contain some 
novelty and information which may assist 
the actual tourist — its chief object, as 
well as furnish amusement to the fire-side 
traveller. He therefore submits to the 
Public the notes which he made during 
the journeys which were undertaken ex- 
pressly for his " Illustrations of the Passes/' 

Previous to the first of these Excur- 
sions, the Author had crossed the Alps by 
the route of the Simplon, on his way into 
Italy in 1821, and repassed them by the 
Brenner in 1822 ; to which tour occasional 
references are made. 



CONTENTS. 



jptrst (SBxcurstom 

CHAPTER I. 

Departure — Paris — Route to Lyons, by Dijon — Cote d'Or — 
Chalons-sur-Saone — Coche d'Eau — Lyons — Punishment 
for fraudulent Bankruptcy — Route to Geneva — Perte du 
Rhone — Nantua — Geneva Page 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Enter Savoy, Bonneville — Progress of the King of Sardinia — 
Servoz — Chamouny — Montanvert — Col de Vosa — Conta- 
mines — Notre Dame de la Gorge — Col du Bon-homme, 
Chapiu — Col de Seigne — Allee Blanche — Glacier of the 
Brenva — Courmayeur 15 

CHAPTER III. 

Courmayeur — La Salle — Accommodation at the Hotel a la 
Rose — Aosta — Val d'Aosta — Chatillon — Val Tour- 
nanche 37 

CHAPTER IV. 

Val d'Aosta — Fort Bard — Ivrea — Monte Serra — Biella Hos- 
pital — Gattinara — A Coquette — Val Sesia — Varallo — 
Sacro Monte — Borgomaniera — Lake of Orta — Isola 
Giulio — Omegna — Lago Maggiore — Isola Bella — 
Baveno 51 



X 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

Shores of the Lago Maggiore — Statue of St. Carlo Borromeo — 
Sesto Calende — Strada Sempione — Milan — La Scala — 
Corso — Carbonari — Milanese Justice — Leonardo da Vinci's 
Last Supper — Modern Art at Milan — Frontiers of the 
Milanese — Vercelli — Turin — The Superga Page 74 

CHAPTER VI. 

Leave Turin — Pignerol — Induction of an Archbishop — Valley 
of the Clusone — Fort of Fenestrelles — Col de Sestrieres — 
Cesanne — Mont Genbvre — Douaniers — Briancon,. . 88 

CHAPTER VII. 

Gendarme — View of Briancon — Valley of the Guisanne — 
La Lozet — Col de Lautaret — Mont Lens — La Grave — 
Storm — Val Romanche — Route d'Espagne en Italie — Gal- 
leries in the Combe of Mai val — Bourg d'Oysans — Combe 
of Gavet — Vizille — Buonaparte and the Bourbons — Gre- 
noble — Statue of the Chevalier Bayard 101 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Valley of Gresivaudan — Ponte Charra — Chateau Bayard — 
Frontier — Montmelian — St. Pierre d'Albigny — Chateau 
Moilans, Val Isere — L'Hopital Conflans — Fonderie 
Royale — Moutiers — Cluse d'Haute-Cour — Ayme — St. 
Maurice — Valley of the Reclus — Roche Blanche — Passage 
ofHannibal — Hospice — Summit of the^ Little St. Bernard — 
Colonne de Joux — La Tuile — Scene of Hannibal's Difficulty 
in descending from the Alps — Baths of St. Didier — Village 
Funeral — Aosta 118 



CONTENTS. 



XI 



CHAPTER IX. 

Ascent to the Great St. Bernard — Hospice — Courtesies and 
Character of the Monks — Their Resources — Travellers — 
Records of Visitors in the Travellers' Book — The Chapel 
— The Morgue — Scene from the Hospice — Temple of 
Jupiter — Ancient History of the Pass — Foundation of 
the Hospice — Its History in the Middle Ages — Present 
State Page 139 

CHAPTER X. 

Departure of Visitors — Descent from the Hospice — Plain of 
Prou — Forest of St. Pierre — Passage of Napoleon's Army 
in 1800 — Bourg St. Pierre — Liddes — Some English Tra- 
vellers — St. Branchier — Inundation of the Valley of Bagnes 
in 1818 — Details of the Proceedings of the Engineers, 
and their unparalleled Bravery — Valley of the Drance — 
Martigny 164 

CHAPTER XL 

Pisse-Vache — St. Maurice — Martyrs — Fanatics — Lake of 
Geneva — St. Gingulph — Sunday Amusements — Beautiful 
Lake Scene — Rocks of Meillerie — Convent of Rapaille — 
Frontier of Savoy and Geneva — Geneva — Journey to 
Paris — Frontier of France — Paris — Public Entry of 
Charles X.— Home 177 



§b*tonJy Excursion. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Departure — Boulogne — Paris — Forest of Fontainebleau — Mon- 
targis— Gens-d'armes' — Valley of the Loire — Nivers— Val- 



Xll 



CONTENTS. 



ley of the Allier — Roanne — Mont Tarare — Lyons — De- 
parture for Chamberry — Voiturier — Pont Beauvoisin — 
Defile of La Caille — Les Eschelles — New Gallery — Old 
Roads — Chamberry Page 191 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Montmelian — Aiguebelle — Valley of the Arc — St. Jean de 
Maurienue — Modane — Lanslebourg — Hotel Royal — A 
Dog and a Duel — Ascent of the Mont Cenis — Game — 
Descent to Suza — Plain of St. Nicholas — Short Cut — 
Suza — Valley of the Doire — Monastery of St. Michael — 
Turin — Bankers — St. Anthony's Miracles — Road to Ca- 
luso — Ivrea — Val d'Aosta — Chatillon — Baths of St. Vin- 
cent— Bear-Hunt 203 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Val Tournanche — Ascent to Briel — Chalets of Mont Jumont 
— Mountain Accommodation — Detention at the Chalets 
by a Snow-storm — Ascent of Mont Cervin — Prepose — 
Smugglers — Glaciers — Summit — Scene from the Glaciers 
— Learned Guide — Tourmente — Hasty Descent — Disrup- 
tion of the Glaciers — Arrival at the Cure's of Zermatt — 
Illness — English Travellers — Descent of the Valley of 
St. Nicholas to Visp 222 

CHAPTER XV. 

Valley of Saas — Ravines — Records of Accidents — Aballa — 
Plain and Village of Saas — Conduct of the Cure — Twilight 
on Mont Fee — Allmengal — Moraine — Lake and Chalets 
of Destal — Passes of the Moro — Ancient Road — Glaciers — 
Bear— Summit — Splendid View of Mont Rosa — Descent 
to Macugnaga — Inn — Catholic Relics 238 



CONTENTS. 



Xlll 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Pesterana— Professore Fantonetti— Visit to the Gold Mines- 
Gorge of Pesterana — Ceppo Morelli — Scenery of the 
Val Anzasca— Fine Race of Inhabitants — Costume and 
Beauty of the Women— Vanzone— Ponte Grande— Beau- 
tiful Road through the Valley — Castiglione — View into Val 
d'Ossola — Pie de Muliera — Superintendent of the Gold 
Mines — Situation of the ancient Ictymuli — Vogogna — In- 
stance of Italian gratitude — Happy Valley Page 253 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Intra — Jour Maigre — Lago Maggiore — Luvino — Lugano — 
Lake of Lugano — Porlezza — Road to Menagio — -Lake of 
Como — Domasio — Musquittoes — Lake of Riva — Chia- 
venna — Isola — New Route of the Splugen — Splugen — 
Andeer — Via Mala — Richenau — Coire , 264 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Ragatz — Sargans — Lake of Wallenstadt — Fall of the Saren- 
bach — Innkeeper — Vale of Seetz — Baths ofPferTers — Visit 
to the Spring — Road to the Convent of PfefFers — Coire — 
Voiturier — Via Mala — Andeer — Valley of Schams — Rofla 
— Splugen — Rhinwald — Naufanen — A Family of 
Giants 285 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Hinter-Rhin — Ascent to the Pass of the St. Bernardin — Sum- 
mit — Policy of the Grisons — Expense and Advantages of 
the New Road — Opposition of the Austrian Government — 
Village and Baths of St. Bernardin — Falls of the Moesa — 
Misocco — Castle of Misocco — Fall of BufFalora — Val 

Misocco — Val Levantine — Bellinzona 302 

b 



xiv 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Bellinzona — Valley of Riviera — Seraentino — Locarno — Lago 
Maggiore — Catholicism — Val Levantine — Val Blegno — 
Giornico — Dazio Grande — Val Piota — Pass of Stalvedro — 
Val Bedretto — Airolo — Ascent of the St. Gothard — Val 
Tremola — Summit — Hospice — St. Gothard — Descent to 
Val Ursern — Andermatt — Trou d'Uri — Devil's Bridge — 
Contest of the French and Russians — Krachenthal — 
Gbschenen — Amstag — Swiss Soldiers — Altorf . . Page 314 

CHAPTER XXI. 

William Tell — The Truth of his History — Altorf— Fluelen — 
Tellen-platte — Chapel — Fete — Lake of the Waldstetten — 
Gersau — Lucerne — Monument to the Swiss of the 10th 
of x^ugust, 1792 — Annual Fete after the Harvest — Mont 
Pilate — Alpnach — Slide of Mont Pilate — Sarnen — St. 
Nicolas de Flue — Lungern — Brunig — Meyringen. . 336 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Falls of Reichenbach — Imgrund — Handek — Falls of the Aar 

— Schnaps — Hbllen-platte — Hospice of the Grimsel — 
Travellers — Todten-See — Glaciers of the Rhone — Ober- 
wald — Obergestelen — Eginenthal — Glacier of the Gries — 
Lammergayer — Kehrbachi — Fall of the Toccia — For- 
mazza — Val Formazza — Val Antigorio — St. Marco — 
Crevola — Val d'Ossola 348 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Domo d'Ossola — A Man in Authority — Bridge of Crevola — 
Val Dovedro— Gondo — Waterfalls — Great Gallery — Algaby 

— Simplon Village — Landlady — Ascent to the Summit — 
View of the Bernese Alps — Friends en route — Brigg — 
Tourtemagne — Valais — Lausanne — Steam-boat — Nyon — 
Home 365 



JOURNAL 



OF 



AN EXCURSION 



GRAIAN, COTTIAN, AND PENNINE ALPS: 

INCLUDING THE 

PASSES OF THE COL DU BON-HOMME, THE COL DE LA SEIGNE, 
THE COL DE SESTRIERES, THE MONT GENEVRE, 
THE COL DU LAUTARET, 
THE LITTLE ST. BERNARD, AND THE GREAT ST. BERNARD, 



JOURNAL 

OF 

AN EXCURSION 

IN THE 

GRAIAN, COTTIAN, AND PENNINE ALPS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Departure — Paris — Route to Lyons, by Dijon — Cote d'Or — 
Chalons-sur-Saone — Coche d'Eau — Lyons — Punishment 
for fraudulent Bankruptcy — R,oute to Geneva — Perte du 
Rhone — Nantua — Geneva. 

Left London with Mr. Stanfield at seven o'clock 
in the evening of the 25th of July, 1824, by a 
Dover coach, which corresponds with the Hiron- 
delle, a French diligence from Calais to Paris. 
We arrived at five in the morning of the 26th 
at Dover ; and at two o'clock, after a passage of 
three hours, we landed at Calais. The voyage, 
as usual, was to me one of suffering ; but amidst 
the annoyances of paying toll to Neptune for 
the passage, we found amusement in the affec- 
tations of an English girl, who was going, she 

B 



2 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



said, to seek service as a cook in France. She 
complained of her eyesight having suffered by 
too much reading! 

On landing, we were conducted to the Custom- 
house. An acquaintance, who had agreed to ac- 
company us to Paris, was alarmed lest some let- 
ters, which he had been requested to take thither, 
should be discovered : just before he left the packet 
he had thrust them into one of his boots. The 
douanier, in making a personal search, missed the 
right leg, though he felt the other, and our friend 
thus escaped. It is unpardonable, that persons 
going to France should be solicited to take letters 
at a great personal risk, from a beggarly consi- 
deration of the postage. 

Our places had been secured, by the London 
agent, in the coupe, a part of the modern French 
diligence as convenient as an English post-chaise ; 
and we left Calais at eight in the morning of the 
27th, to go to Paris by Beauvais. This journey 
was as dull and uninteresting as usual ; and at 
six in the evening of the 28th we arrived in 
Paris. 

At the messagerie, the active commissionaire 
of the Hotel de Mars persuaded us to take up 
our residence at this hotel ; where we were de- 
tained four days waiting for the aTrival of our 
passports from Calais, and for their receiving the 
necessary signatures of the British, Austrian, Sar- 



ROUTE TO LYONS. 



3 



dinian, and Swiss ambassadors : it is not possible 
in one, and very difficult in two days, to get them 
signed by all. It is only during two or three 
hours in a day that this necessary duty is fulfilled 
by them ; and these hours are the same with all 
the ambassadors. It is said that this is a piece 
of conventional policy, agreed upon by them, to 
gain time for inquiry into the characters of the 
travellers. 

We left Paris at five in the evening of the 
1st of August, by the diligence, for Chalons-sur- 
Saone. We reached Sens early the next morning. 
The first daylight muster of our party was a 
motley exhibition ; and the envelopment of heads 
and throats in shawls and handkerchiefs pre- 
sented the appearance of a party travelling in a 
hospital-waggon. We had engaged the banquette 
or imperial ; the most independent, pleasant, and 
economical part of a French diligence. Within, 
whether alone, or with five companions, the 
French traveller always closes the windows ; and 
suffocation or a quarrel befalls the unlucky En- 
glishman who has the misfortune to be cooped 
up in the diligence. Without, we had fresh air 
and freedom, and the benefit of the society of 
Monsieur le Conducteur, the chronicle of the 
road. He has usually served; and fights his 
battles over again, with more gesture and as 
much truth as a Chelsea pensioner. He is a 



4 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



great man in his way; nods with a certain air 
to those who are complimented by the distinction; 
and flirts en passant with the grisettes. These 
men are often well informed, and are generally 
amusing. On the second day our conducteur 
gave place to a young man whom we took up 
on the road, a Venetian Carbonaro, a fine young 
officer, who had served under Napoleon, and had 
been severely wounded at Waterloo. He had 
spent ten months with the late Queen Caroline 
in Italy ; and on her trial had visited England 
as a volunteer witness for her. His means, poor 
fellow, were scanty ; and he had walked the 
greater part of the way from England, to meet 
his mother by appointment in Switzerland. In his 
wretched country he was proscribed for his parti- 
cipation in the attempts made in 1821 to eman- 
cipate Lombardy from the thraldom of Austria ; 
and he repaid the distinction with ten thousand 
curses upon the Austrians and the Holy Alliance. 
His society made an otherwise tedious journey to 
Dijon pass pleasantly : his conversation was full 
of anecdote; and his gay spirits, except when an 
Austrian agony crossed them, furnished us with 
amusement. 

At Tonnerre, celebrated for its wines, we were 
pressed to take a bottle by the master of the hotel, 
who charged us four francs for what we after- 
wards learned our conducteur would have paid 



LA SALLE HOTEL A LA ROSE. 



39 



in which there were neither French nor Italian 
words enough to enable us to understand her. 
We went up stairs ; but the f 1th was so excessive, 
that my friend declared he would not remain 
here, but proceed to Villeneuve. This was a 
flourish ; Villeneuve was four hours distant ; and 
we had been led to expect beautiful scenery in 
this part of the valley, which we must have 
passed in the dark if we had proceeded ; besides, 
Michael thought we had not much chance of 
better accommodation at Villeneuve. We sub- 
mitted, therefore, but with a very ill grace, to 
receive the delicate attentions of our hostess, 
Madame Sale, as Michael called her in his efforts 
at a pun : her dirt destroyed our appetites ; this 
perhaps, was fortunate, as she had nothing where- 
with to gratify them. She was anxious, however, 
to know what we wished to have for supper, and 
offered us any thing ; but, whatever we particu- 
larised was met by a shake of the head : at length 
we asked for trout from the Doire, and she de- 
lighted us by saying there was plenty oipoissons; — 
there might have been in the river, but the supper 
served to two hungry travellers was one boiled 
trout just the length of my porte-crayon, and some 
boiled potatoes. We had wine, however, and 
bread. We asked for milk ; but this was a luxury 
not to be procured at this season in the valley. 
After supper my companion and I tossed up for 



40 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the bed, as there was but one ; I, fortunately, lost, 
and got a palliasse thrown on the floor, on which 
I lay wrapt in my cloak; my lucky friend who 
won the bed, which in form was like an old Eng- 
lish one, had not taken possession of it ten minutes 
before he was welcomed by a legion, whose affec- 
tionate zeal drove him out to collect the chairs as 
a resting-place. 

19 th. — When we were called at five by 
Michael, all that remained of my friend was 
awake, and we prepared to start. Our landlady 
appeared in an interesting dishabille, and seemed 
to be very unhappy on learning, for the first time, 
that she had bugs in the house, and would have 
denied it but for the evidence which they had left 
on the face of my friend. Upon asking for our 
bill, she demanded, in her patois, dodizy liri. This 
Piemontese sum total, without details, did not 
include Michael's bill, who, cursing the old hag, 
said she had already been demanding four francs 
for his accommodations, though he had slept in 
the hay-loft — the pleasantest dormitory, by the 
by, in the Hotel a la Rose. The villanous de- 
mand of twelve francs we determined to resist, 
and refused to pay even half the sum ; when our 
hostess tossed off a large glass of eau de vie, and 
placed her arms a-kimbo, as we thought to prepare 
for battle : however, on my putting down a five- 
franc piece, she seized it so greedily, as to excite 



FORT ROC. 



41 



regret that we should have offered her so much ; 
a franc would have paid such expenses and 
services as we had incurred and received, with 
ample profit. Michael got off by paying two, and 
as much grumbling as lie could throw into the 
bargain. At length we escaped, crossed our 
mules, and left, " a la rose, Ion logis" We after- 
wards learned that Madame Sale was one of the 
richest inhabitants in the valley ; a brother who 
died in America had left her above 40,000 francs — 
an immense sum here ; but the pill had not even 
then sufficient gilding; she still remained in single 
blessedness. 

On leaving the village of La Salle, the scene 
looking back upon Mont Blanc was magnifi- 
cent; the valley rich in wood and vines, and 
the old castle of La Salle on a peaked rock jut- 
ting from the mountain-side, presented a picture 
to which the clearness and tints of the morning 
gave splendour. We soon after crossed the river, 
where the mountains closed into a deep defile, 
and ascended to Fort Roc, a narrow pass so truly 
overhanging the deep ravine of the Doire, that 
the road was in two or three places carried on 
platforms across fissures in the mountain-side, 
many hundred feet above the river ; these, in case 
of invasion by this pass, might be removed, and 
thus effectually cut off all communication between 
the upper and the lower valleys. Our last view 



42 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



of Mont Blanc was from this spot ; and we con- 
gratulated ourselves that we had not proceeded 
last night, when these magnificent scenes must 
have been concealed from us ; every turn in the 
road presented some new and beautiful point of 
view, or picturesque object — rocks, ravines, forests, 
and old chateaux, were the materials of the scenery, 
aided by the occasional extension of the valley 
into some beautiful little plain, always bounded 
by lofty mountains of magnificent forms. After 
passing the steep and dirty village of Ivrogne, we 
crossed the torrent which descends from the Iseran 
by the Val de Rema, thence we descended to 
Villeneuve, where we rested and procured an ex- 
cellent breakfast of eggs, honey, sausages, chicken, 
wine, cheese, &c. : for this abundance the de- 
mand was 34 sous (17d.); a striking contrast with 
Madame Sales fare and dodizy liri. 

On leaving Villeneuve the route again crosses 
the Doire, and continues on the left bank of the 
river to Aosta. A little below Villeneuve the 
road passes by the village of St. Pierre, and 
leaves its old castle built on a rock on the left : 
it is one of the finest of the feudal remains in 
this valley. The route now lies through a wider 
plain, and many parts of it are well cultivated. 
Occasionally the road lies across the beds of 
detritus w r ashed from the mountains by the winter 
torrents, which renders sterile all such spots as 



AOSTA. 



43 



it covers. The road is tolerably good, except in 
such places, and there its injuries are soon re- 
medied. 

After passing the chateau of Sarra, the valley 
becomes still wider, and the city of Aosta appears 
situated at the base of those mountains which lead 
to the pass of the Great St. Bernard. We took 
up our quarters at the Hotel de la Poste, and 
then visited the Roman remains for which Aosta 
is celebrated. After the conquest of the Salassi, a 
people living on the confines of the Alps, who had 
harassed the Romans, by whom they were extir- 
pated, Augustus rebuilt their city, gave it his own 
name, and established there 3000 soldiers from 
the praetorian cohorts. Inscriptions and ruins are 
found in various situations which attest its early 
importance : of these, an amphitheatre may be 
traced, a bridge, a triumphal arch in tolerable 
preservation, and a gateway of remarkable form, 
having two fagades, with a quadrangle between 
them ; each fa§ade composed of three arches, the 
centre much the largest. There are other ruins, 
in which the antiquarian may indulge his fancy 
in speculations. We found our inn dirty and 
disagreeable ; and our rest was broken by an in- 
truder into the chamber of my companion, be- 
tween whose room and my own, a door had been 
left open. In his there was another door, leading 
to a third chamber; this was slowly and suspi- 



44 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



ciously opened by some one, who roused my friend. 
He called out to me for my pistols ; the party 
retreated. Some time after, I was again disturbed; 
the mysterious visitor had again entered ; but as 
I dreaded to comply with my companion's wish 
to let him have arms to fire upon the intruder, 
I got up, and with a convenient screw-bolt, 
such as every traveller should carry, fastened 
the door. 

20th. — We learned this morning that the poor 
devil whom my friend would have shot, was a 
traveller like ourselves, whose fears of Messieurs 
les Anglais kept him awake and restless, with the 
dread that his throat might be cut by us before 
the morning; 

We did not leave Aosta until nine o'clock, 
owing to the necessity of procuring a revision of 
our guide's passport, before he could proceed fur- 
ther down the valley. At a short distance from 
Aosta, the Chateau de Quart struck our attention 
from its picturesque appearance and commanding 
situation. We attained it by ascending the hill on 
our left, and enjoyed a delightful view of that part 
of the valley in which Aosta is situated. It lay 
spread out into a plain highly cultivated. The 
Turkish corn and the vines were luxuriant ; the 
sides of the hills were clothed with forests of vast 
chestnut and walnut-trees; and beyond these ap- 
peared the glaciers and peaks of Mount Soana, 



VAL D'AOSTA. 



45 



Every thing bore the air of the Italian side of the 
Alps, Pictures of souls suffering in purgatory 
were painted upon the little chapels, to stimu- 
late the fears or the piety of passengers ; and a 
small box, strongly locked, was always near it, to 
receive the freedom from perdition, which may 
here be bought with the smallest coin in the 
realm offered the church. Son jour was already 
exchanged for salute; but it was offered by a race 
of beings generally stunted and diseased. No- 
where are goitres and cretins more prevalent than 
in this beautiful valley. The peasantry appear 
squalid and filthy. Of the whole population in 
the neighbourhood of Aosta, one in fifty is a 
cretin ; and above half are more or less goitred. 
Some of these are horrid objects. Tumours as 
large as their heads are appended to their throats, 
varying in number, size, and colour. The dirt, de- 
formity, and imbecility of the inhabitants of this 
part of the valley, presented a scene so wretched, 
that it harrowed our feelings. Not a well-dressed 
or decent-looking person is to be met with : all 
bear marks of poverty, disease, and wretchedness ; 
and this too amidst scenes for which nature has 
done so much. Surrounded by mountains, and 
high in their own locality, we saw nothing of the 
lightness, activity, and high spirits of the moun- 
taineer. Something weighs upon the people like 
a curse. Many conjectures have been offered 



46 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



upon the cause of goitres and cretinism. Labour, 
food, water, air, have all been offered in explana- 
tion ; but none of these account for it satisfactorily. 
The opinion of our guide was, that it was chiefly 
owing to the villanously dirty habits of the peo- 
ple most afflicted with it. He said that among 
the mountaineers this was the general opinion ; 
and though it sometimes descended in families, 
and often was observed in infancy, yet it might 
be traced to the filthy habits of preceding gene- 
rations. 

Perhaps the finest part of the valley of the 
Doire lies below Aosta : it abounds with chateaux 
in picturesque situations. Many of these are at 
great elevations ; others are situated on bold head- 
lands or knolls, at the bases of the mountains ; 
some are on rocks, accessible only with great dif- 
ficulty, and generally they are surrounded by the 
vast forest-trees of this valley. At Nuz there is 
a picturesque entrance by a gateway beneath the 
ruins of a chateau. Throughout this valley the 
fronts of the auberges have generally trellises of 
vines extending quite across the road, where tra- 
vellers may rest and take refreshment, sheltered 
from the sun by the leaves and pendulous fruit 
which ripen beneath. These trellises are as pic- 
turesque as they are convenient. 

We arrived at the Three Kings, chez Jean 
Guarda, at Chatillon, about six o'clock, and learnt, 



CHATILLON. 



47 



with some vexation, that the glaciers of the Cervin, 
which we had hoped to cross, were reported to be 
impassable. We have resolved, however, to try 
to-morrow. Chatillon is situated in the valley 
of Aosta, at the opening of the Val Tournanche, 
which leads by the high pass of the Cervin into 
the Valais. The torrent which descends from the 
Cervin rushes into the Val d 'Aosta through a 
frightful chasm. Across it a bridge of admirable 
construction is thrown, a single arch ; and the gulf 
seen from its parapets is quite appalling. About 
500 feet further down the ravine there are two 
old bridges, one built over the other. The lower 
arch, which still remains, is said to be a Roman 
work. About ten feet directly above this the 
second is built, and the high road of the valley 
formerly passed over it : it now only leads to a 
chapel and some vineyards. From the parapet of 
the new bridge, the view of the ravine, the old 
bridges, the Chateau d'Uselle, seen across the 
valley, and the mountains which divide the valleys 
of the Doire and the Orca, is very fine. 

2\st. — The falling-in of the glaciers of the Cer- 
vin, across which lies our route to the Valais, is an 
accident of very unusual occurrence ; it is reported 
to have happened a week ago ; and as no travellers 
had since descended from the pass, Jean Guarda 
considered our attempt as hopeless. We, how- 
ever, procured another guide from Chatillon, and 



48 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



ascended the Val Tournanche. The entrance was 
exceedingly wild and grand, through a forest of 
chestnuts, and amidst enormous blocks of ser- 
pentine which had fallen from the mountains on 
both sides. Sometimes the road skirted precipices 
above the torrent too deep for the eye to reach 
the waters. After ascending for some time, and 
occasionally crossing the river, the peak of the 
Cervin appeared over the mountains, which seemed 
to close the ascent of the valley; it rose like a 
pyramid of such vast magnitude, that I cannot 
describe the impression which it made upon us. 
At the village of Val Tournanche, where guides 
are usually taken to cross the Cervin, we were 
assured by them, that with mules it was impas- 
sible, and on foot several guides would be required 
to insure our safety. They said that a change of 
the glaciers by this pass was very rare — it had not 
happened for twenty years before ; but now the 
whole glacier on the side of the Valais was in 
motion. Some attempts had been made to trace 
another path, but without success, as the pro- 
gress of the glaciers had destroyed them, and 
they must wait for its settling. The danger ap- 
peared to exceed the love of gain, even with these 
mountaineers, and they owned that they would 
rather not undertake to accompany us. We had no 
desire to exhibit any fool-hardiness ; and, bowing 
to the necessity, were preparing to return, when 



VAL TOURNANCHE. 



49 



two scoundrels, who made themselves known as 
preposes (officers of customs on the frontiers), 
claimed a right to examine our baggage. As we 
were about to return to Chatillon, and had not 
left the states of Sardinia, we resisted this obvious 
attempt to extort money; but as the beggarly 
manoeuvre was also an unjust one, we shewed our 
passports, which neither of them could read, and 
we refused to grant what they had no right to de- 
mand : if we had entered or left the frontier, it 
would have been their duty. One of them seized 
my companion's horse's bridle to use violence, for 
which he received a blow from him with his draw- 
ing-stool over the arm, which he was likely to 
remember for some time : they instantly ran to 
their station for their arms and assistance ; our 
pistols were as immediately put in requisition. 
This brought a" nest of hornets about us ; the peo- 
ple of the village were too much afraid of the 
rascals not to assist them, if necessary. Michael, 
and our guide from Chatillon, threw themselves 
upon us with the entreaty, that we would not pro- 
ceed to further violence. All admitted the justice 
of our case ; but said, that whatever the conse- 
quences might be to us, or to the preposes, they, 
the guides, were sure to be sufferers; and the 
terror of poor Michael, for whom we felt a real 
regard, was so great, that we at length agreed to 
let our luggage be opened. Our assailants then 

D 



50 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



offered to let us off for a franc, their only ob- 
ject; this we refused, declaring our determination 
to report their conduct at Turin : nothing was 
taken, the things were replaced ; yet, even after 
this, with a sort of coaxing grin, the fellows asked 
something for having let us off so easily; but they 
did not succeed. We returned by the same route, 
fatigued by our long day's journey. 



51 



CHAPTER IV. 

Val d'Aosta — Fort Bard — Ivrea — Monte Serra — Biella Hos- 
pital — Gattinara — A Coquette — Val Sesia — Varallo — 
Sacro Monte — Borgomaniera — Lake of Orta — Isola Giu- 
lio — Omegna — Lago Maggiore — Isola Bella — Baveno. 

August 22d. — We now felt it necessary to alter 
our plan, and decided upon hiring a volantin — a 
sort of gig — of our host, Jean Guarda, to be driven 
by him to Milan, by Biella and the Lake of Orta. 
We were obliged to part with our excellent guide 
from Chamouny, Michael Balma, whose disap- 
pointment in not crossing the Cervin was equal 
to our own. We left Chatillon about eight o'clock, 
and a league below it passed through the village 
of St. Vincent, where there are mineral waters, to 
which invalids resort. Near it we crossed a re- 
markable bridge of Roman construction, called 
the Pont des Saracens ; it is thrown over a deep 
ravine. The view from the bridge, looking up 
the valley towards Chatillon, is very beautiful. 
We soon after, on our descent, found the valley 
turn abruptly to the right, at the defile of Mont 
Jovet, where the road is cut out, like a deep 
lateral furrow in the face of the rock that over- 



52 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



hangs a dark and fearful abyss, through which 
the Doire, at a great depth, forces its way. This 
road is probably a work of the Romans. It must 
have been one of great labour, to have been thus 
formed before the use of gunpowder was known. 
It appears, from an inscription cut on the face of 
the rock, that it was greatly improved by the 
monks of St. Bernard, who are of the order of 
St. Augustin ; but by a little manoeuvre of Charles 
Emanuel, third king of Sardinia, who has added 
to the inscription on the tablet above and below, 
he has taken a large share of the credit to him- 
self. It stands thus : 

CAROLI EMANUEL IS III SARDINIA 
REGIS. P. F. IXVICTI AQCTORITATE 

IN TENT AT AM ROMAN IS VIAM 
PER AS PER A MONTIS IOVIS ICGA 
AD FACILIORUM COMMERCIORCM 

ET THERM ARUM USUM 
MAGXIS IMPENSIS PATE FACT AM 
AUGUSTAXI 
PERFECERUNT A. MDCCLXXI 

REGNI XLII 

On the left, and immediately above the road, 
stands the chateau of St. Germains, which must 
have rendered this place dangerous to travellers, 
when the lawless power of feudal lords levied 
contributions on those who passed near them. 
The chateau commands fine views up and down 
the valley. 



VAL d'aOSTA — FORT BARD. 



53 



The next town, Verrex, is situated at the en- 
trance to the Val de Challant, which descends from 
the Mont Rosa. The appearance of the people 
here shewed a little improvement in cleanliness 
and health. The castle of Verrex, of which an 
immense square keep remains, is scarcely worth 
the trouble of visiting. We took refreshment at 
the Scudo di Francia, where I was poisoned by 
the wine ; my throat felt as if on fire, and it was 
long before I was relieved from the painful sensa- 
tions which it produced. Descending the valley 
we reached Fort Bard. The natural strength of this 
position is so great as nearly to have proved fatal 
to Buonaparte in his invasion of Italy in 1800. 

When his army, on its way from the passage 
of the Great St. Bernard, to reap the laurels of 
Marengo, arrived at Fort Bard, it was checked by 
an Austrian garrison of four hundred men. The 
strength of the position may be conceived from the 
small number of soldiers placed there to defend it. 
This check, if effectual, would have been fatal to 
the French army ; its rations would have been 
exhausted in a few days, and sufficient supplies by 
the Great St. Bernard were hopeless. Buonaparte's 
impatience and inquietude were excessive ; his fate 
depended upon his power to force this pass without 
delay. He ordered an assault — the town was en- 
tered ; but the street terraced out of the rock, 
through which the route lay, was commanded 



54 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



almost within pistol-shot by the fort. The most 
daring attempts by the French grenadiers to take 
the fort were defeated, and an attempt to pass 
without silencing the batteries would have been 
certain destruction. During this affair, however, 
a party of fifteen hundred men, though exposed to 
the fire of the fort, had climbed the rocks and 
precipices of the Albaredo, a mountain above the 
town, and succeeded in conveying, but with in- 
credible danger and difficulty, a four-pounder to 
the point of a rock, which commanded the fort, 
where it was successful in checking the battery 
that annoyed the troops in this ascent. Generals 
Berthier and Marmont now prepared for passing 
through the town with the main army by night ; 
litter was strewn in the street, and the wheels of 
the cannon and waggons were bound with hay- 
bands, to deaden the sound of their passage. A 
party of soldiers had succeeded in raising a gun 
into the belfry of a church which commanded one 
of the gates of the fort. With the darkness the 
march began, but the wary enemy opened a tre- 
mendous and destructive fire. Each gun of the 
French army was drawn by fifty soldiers, who 
passed beneath the shot, grenades, and pots de feu 
of the Austrians, with as much silence and speed 
as possible. Fortunately, the gun in the belfry 
was so efficiently served, that it destroyed the gate 
of the fort, which it commanded ; and the Austrians, 



I VREA. 



55 



fearing an immediate assault at that point, sur- 
rendered. 

Though the forms of the rocks around Fort 
Bard are grand and commanding, they are not 
picturesque. After passing through the narrow 
street of the village, we descended rather abruptly 
to Donas, where the road passes under an arch 
cut in the rock, a Roman work ; and near it is 
a Roman mile-stone, bearing the number XXX. 
At Saint Martin's, lower down in the valley, a 
single arch, of great span, is thrown across the 
torrent of the Lesa, which flows from the Monte 
Rosa. From Saint Martin's, the mountains lessen, 
the valley widens ; and at Settimo Vittone the 
traveller may be said to have reached the plains 
of Italy, — at least, the road is now nearly level 
all the way to the city of Ivrea, in the plains. 

Though we were taken to the principal hotel, 
our accommodations were wretched : we found 
some amusement, however, in looking out upon the 
Grande Place, and watching the military evolu- 
tions of one corporal, one drummer, one fifer, and 
one (!) rank and file, relieving the city guard, with 
so much evident earnestness, and consciousness of 
their dignity and importance, that our gravity was 
perfectly upset. Ivrea is a town of great antiquity, 
known to the Romans as Eporedia — a name sup- 
posed by Pliny to be derived from the Gauls : 
here the Salassi, captives to the Romans, were 



56 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



sold as slaves by public auction. It was the seat 
of a dukedom under the kings of Lombardy ; and 
its importance as a marquisate at a later period in 
history, is shewn in Durandi's Marca d' Ivrea. 
The Doire washes its walls, and the entrance to 
the city from Turin is over the river by a pic- 
turesque bridge which crosses the torrent. The 
old castle, with its turrets, now a prison, is a 
striking feature in any view of the town. Ivrea 
is the capital of the Canavois, a district which 
derives its name from the quantity of hemp it 
produces. 

23d. — After a hot and stormy night, we set 
off for Biella, though the weather was not very 
promising for our journey. It was cloudy on the 
mountains ; but we looked back upon Ivrea and 
the plains — a scene of great richness, and of im- 
mense extent — as we ascended to cross the Monte 
Serra by the hills upon which the village of Bo- 
lenga is situated : these are covered with vines, 
whose produce is celebrated ; but a heavy calamity 
had just befallen the proprietors. About ten days 
since, a storm of hail swept across their hills, and 
destroyed all their hopes of a productive vintage. 
The mischief had extended over a line of about 
twelve miles ; the hail had beaten down the vines 
end the corn, and the wind had torn up the chest- 
nut and walnut-trees, leaving to the cultivators 
only a scene of desolation. 



COTE d'0R- 



5 



twelve sous. We dined at midnight at Montbard ; 
where there is a chateau celebrated as the birth- 
place of Buffon the naturalist. On the third day 
we reached Dijon, where we staid three hours, and 
then proceeded to Chalons-sur-Saone through the 
Cote d'Or. Half our journey this day lay through 
vineyards, stretching from the plains up the sides 
of the hills which we skirted on our route, and 
presenting a richness of cultivation which com- 
pensated for the absence of the picturesque. We 
drank delicious Burgundy at the Clos de Vougeot^ 
the most celebrated vineyard in this country. It 
is a walled enclosure, which formerly belonged 
to the abbey of Cito, the spire of which place we 
saw from the road. This vineyard, which is very 
small, is reported to yield 250,000 francs a-year 
profit : if all the bibbers of this wine pay for it 
as we did, seven francs a bottle, this is not im- 
probable. We had, in our change of travellers 
at Dijon, taken up a pompous middle-aged mili- 
taire, w r hose calling had ceased with his master's 
(Napoleon) : he favoured us with occasional in- 
formation on the road, but always delivered it 
with the conceit of one whose nose Queen Mab 
had traversed with a marshal's baton. We were 
indebted to him for noticing, as we passed, the 
Clos de Vougeot, Nuits, Baune, Pomard, Volney, 
and other places that gave names to the wines 
which we remembered in the cartes of the restau- 



6 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



rateurs in Paris. At Nuits our companion pointed 
out a house from which a notary had been lately- 
banished for ten years, for having struck a justice 
of the peace who had given a decision against 
his client. 

It was nine in the evening before we reached 
Chalons-sur-Saone, where a table -d'hote supper 
awaited us, at which a well-dressed boy, whose 
grin and looks defied description, ate till he was 
ill, bolting mouthsful half as big as his head, with 
the claws and gestures of a young cannibal: his 
resemblance to the urchin in the " Lay of the 
Last Minstrel" was forcibly recalled to me by 
my friend's exclamation of " Lost, lost, lost ! " 

August 5th. — A wet day, and the necessity 
of staying until the evening for the coche d'eau, 
have created a hearty disgust towards Chalons- 
sur-Saone. My companion has another reason 
for detesting it. Last night I was awoke by a 
strong smell of whisky, and a thousand muttered 
maledictions from the next room. Upon inquiring 
the cause, my friend said, that he had been 
assailed by a legion, and springing from the bed 
in a state of torment, groped about and found a 
leather bottle of whisky which he had brought 
from England, and sprinkled himself; an experi- 
ment to repel the enemy. 

6th. — We left Chalons last night about ten, 
and got over the early part of the voyage in a 



COCHE d'eAU ON THE SAONE. 



7 



crowded dirty cabin. About five in the morn- 
ing we reached Macon, where we landed for 
half an hour and took coffee : from Macon the 
scenes down the river increased in interest, and 
tlieir rapid succession gave a charm to the pas- 
sage — towns, villages, and chateaux, crowded the 
banks, or speckled the vineyards near the river ; 
yet, during the fury of the revolution, upwards of 
one hundred and sixty chateaux were destroyed 
within this district. From many points the views 
were beautiful ; and as a fine day brought the 
passengers on deck, the varieties of costume and 
character enlivened the party. The women of 
Macon wear a very small black hat, not larger 
than that of a doll, stuck on their caps ; the largest 
is not more than six inches across, including the 
brim ; it makes a grotesque appearance. 

There was a sort of establishment on board 
for spoiling appetites. We witnessed, yet partook 
of the cookery ; but hunger is not often delicate. 
The fowls appeared, to use a common joke of the 
French, to have died of chagrin; they had all been 
boiled for soup, and were now ready for fricassee 
or roasting — those who preferred the latter were 
soon accommodated ; the chicken was put into a 
flat saucepan with a little butter, and soon burnt 
brown enough to pass for poulet roti. Excellent 
wine and bread, and moderate charges, were 
among the agremens of the voyage. We rested 



8 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



for a few minutes at Trevaux — passed the pictur- 
esque Ile-barbe ; and shortly after, entered the 
busy city of Lyons, where we were taken to the 
custom-house and examined, to see whether we 
had attempted to violate a municipal right — a 
duty on spirits : this was the excuse for examining 
every traveller's trunk, and almost his pockets, for 
concealed brandy. 

1th. — We enjoyed last evening, and again to- 
day, a splendid view of Mont Blanc. It is very 
seldom that this mountain, and Lyons, and the in- 
tervening distance of about one hundred and twenty 
miles, possess that clearness of atmosphere which is 
essential to seeing the monarch of the Alps from 
this city ; but the nearer ranges are rarely so 
clouded, but that the Lyonnois can point out what 
they think will do as well — one of the snowy peaks 
of the Dauphiny Alps — which it is a common trick 
to pass for Mont Blanc upon the English, who fail 
not, after a reference to their guide-books, which 
announce the possibility of viewing Mont Blanc 
from Lyons, to inquire after that object which 
many have left England principally to visit. Its 
form, however, is so peculiar, that no one can be 
deceived who has once seen Mont Blanc from the 
Jura side. When seen from Lyons, its insulated 
appearance and known distance give a sublime 
impression of its magnitude. 

8^. — We have spent more time at Lyons than 



LYONS. 



9 



we intended; but its picturesque situation, its manu- 
factures, and its public establishments, deserve 
attention : my stay of a fortnight in 1821 made me 
well acquainted with these. We have been ex- 
ploring and sketching, and have visited the Palais 
des Arts et de Commerce, the public gardens and 
library, the ruins of the fortifications, and the hill 
of Sainte Marie Fourvieres, where one of the finest 
views of the city is presented : it lies below the 
observer, with its quays swept by those magnificent 
rivers, the Rhone and the Saone ; and far beyond, 
the eye stretches over the broad and fertile valley 
of the former to the range of the Jura Mountains ; 
towering above these, we still saw Mont Blanc. 

A building of a remarkable form — a pyramid 
— is seen on the Brotteaux, a plain on the left 
bank of the Rhone, where shows and guinguettes 
are great sources of attraction to the vulgar. This 
pyramid is a church, erected in memory of two 
hundred and ten victims to revolutionary fury, 
who were shot together on the spot where the 
church now stands, and which bears the name of 
the Champ de douleur. 

About two miles below the city, a walk through 
a long avenue, between the Rhone and the Saone, 
leads to the finest view of Lyons, near the Pont 
de Mulatiere, which crosses the Saone, and ter- 
minates the avenue near the confluence of this 
river with the Rhone. From the rocks and hills 

b 2 



10 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



on this part of the right bank of the Saone, the 
prospect of Lyons is the most picturesque of a 
hundred points of view. A road hence leads back 
by the Saone to the city. No visitor to Lyons 
should fail to make an excursion to the confluence 
of its rivers. 

On our return to the Hotel du Pare, we ob- 
served a crowd assembled around a scaffold in the 
Place de Terreaux, the scene of criminal punish- 
ment, where, after the siege of Lyons in 1793, 
fifteen hundred victims were immolated by the 
worshippers of the Goddess of Reason ! At present 
there was no guillotine on the scaffold ; but a post, 
to which a culprit, a woman, was fastened and 
exposed : her name, crime, and sentence, were 
written on a placard above her head, and the 
spectators informed by it, that she was Lauretta 
Petit, twenty-eight years of age, and a widow, 
who, for participation in a fraudulent bankruptcy, 
was condemned to one hour's exposure, and five 
years' imprisonment with hard labour. If such a 
punishment were applied to the crime in England, 
I fear that the frequent occasion for its exhibition 
would destroy the intended effect \ it might, how- 
ever, be tried. 

We have arranged for our departure by the 
Geneva diligence to-day at four o'clock : it goes by 
Nantua — a route which I highly enjoyed in 1821. 
We have reckoned with surprise, that the actual 



NANTUA. 



11 



cost of our conveyance from London to Geneva 
will scarcely exceed five guineas each, though 
we travelled from Calais to Paris in the coupe of 
the Hirondelle — a piece of unnecessary extra- 
vagance. In London we each paid 2/. 19s. to be 
set down in Paris ; from Paris to Chalons-sur- 
Saone, 39 francs ; thence by the coche d'eau to 
Lyons, 7 francs ; and from Lyons to Geneva we 
have paid 12 francs. 

9th. — The route from Lyons to Geneva is 
very beautiful and interesting. After passing 
the fauxbourgs of Lyons, the road emerges from 
long avenues, and for many miles ascends the 
right bank of the Rhone. On looking back, 
the city of Lyons is seen lying beneath the hills, 
which, except towards the Rhone, surround it, 
and continues in sight almost to Mirabel, whence 
the route lies through an open, cultivated country. 
After passing Pont d'Ain, the road enters among 
the hills, which at Cerdon appear to prevent fur- 
ther progress, by closing in around the deep dell 
in which this little town is situated ; the traveller 
emerges, however, by an excellent road, which 
presents some picturesque scenes as it winds up 
the hill above Cerdon to the next post-house of 
Maillac, and thence to Nantua, a town embosomed 
with its little lake amidst rocks and mountains. 
An excellent inn at Nantua, abundantly supplied, 
especially with fish from the lake, makes it a 



12 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



convenient half-way resting-place between Lyons 
and Geneva. From Nantua, the road, after cross- 
ing a hill, winds through a valley which recalls 
the scenery of Cumberland, as it passes the bor- 
ders of the little lakes near Saint Germain de 
Joux, but increases in wildness as it skirts a deep 
ravine by Chatillon, and presents a succession of 
scenes of romantic beauty. 

Near Bellegarde is the Perte du Rhone, an 
object of interest to the traveller ; but he would 
find it impossible to arrive at it without the at- 
tendance of a troop of dirty and beggarly ciceroni, 
whose clamour and importunity cannot be de- 
scribed. The sudden narrowing of the Rhone, 
and its disappearance into the caverns through 
which it passes for a short distance, are remark- 
able features in this scenery ; but a gorge more 
appalling is seen from the bridge at Bellegarde, 
where the river Versline foams 120 feet below the 
road, amidst rocks which are perforated in a sin- 
gular manner by the action of the water. 

From Bellegarde the road ascends, and some 
magnificent views are presented to the traveller ; 
and in descending again to Fort d'Ecluse, occa- 
sional peeps are caught into the deep ravine 
through which the Rhone escapes from the moun- 
tain barrier of the Jura. Fort d'Ecluse is con- 
structed on the precipitous side of the gorge which 
the Rhone has here cut through the rocks, and 



GENEVA. 



13 



which river the fort overhangs many hundred 
feet ; it completely defends the approach to France 
by this road. Soon after passing the fort, Mont 
Blanc bursts upon the view of the traveller, and 
continues the chief feature in the scenes which 
extend to Geneva across a richly cultivated plain. 
Here we have taken up our quarters at the Ecu 
de Geneve, with our rooms on the lake side of 
the establishment — much the pleasantest, which 
we obtained, with a little coaxing, from our 
host. 

An Englishman is struck at Geneva with the 
prevalence of his language : he hears it from half 
the persons who pass him in the street ; and at the 
inn it almost produces the illusion that he is still in 
England. I confess that it gives me pleasure to 
hear it spoken. I am not one of those who, with a 
canting utterance of dislike in a foreign country to 
the sound of their mother tongue, affect to avoid 
it. I am sure that among the English who travel, 
many are acute observers, who, by communicat- 
ing their knowledge to such of their countrymen 
as have known how to appreciate the opportu- 
nity, have imparted more information than could 
have been obtained from other sources. The 
booby who seeks distinction by expressing loudly 
his dislike to his countrymen and their language, 
is, almost without exception, one who relies upon 
the courtesy of the stranger to pardon his common- 



14 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



place remarks in bad French, and obtain a lesson 
gratis. 

10^. — Bought a musical box at Aubert's, in 
the Rue de la Machine. I recollected that on a 
former occasion the music of one of these beau- 
tiful instruments recalled vividly the scenes in 
which I first heard it ; and in anticipation of this 
pleasure I shall take one into the mountains. 
We provided ourselves also with sacks to wear 
over the shoulders, leather bottles, and other 
things necessary for our journey ; all which can 
be readily procured here. 



15 



CHAPTER II. 

Enter Savoy, Bonneville — Progress of the King of Sardinia — 
Servoz — Chamouny — Montanvert — Col de Vosa — Conta- 
mines — Notre Dame de la Gorge — Col du Bon-homme, 
Chapiu — Col de Seigne — Allee Blanche — Glacier of the 
Brenva — Courmayeur. 

• August Wth. — Left Geneva at seven o'clock, 
for Saint Martin's ; we should have started earlier, 
but the man who agreed last night to take us 
for eighteen francs did not make his appearance, 
though he promised to call us at half-past four. 
The rascal probably sold us for a better job. On 
our arrival at Bonneville, we found the new King 
of Sardinia there, on a progress through his terri- 
tories; he was received by the gentlemen in the 
neighbourhood, and served by them as a guard of 
honour. The houses were hung with festoons of 
moss and flowers, and decorated with blue flags, 
having a white cross upon them : large tempo- 
rary arches had been erected ; and the splendour 
of the scene was doubtless very striking to the 
bewildered loyalty of the worthy Savoyards. I 
cannot say that we felt the presence very awful- — 
Englishmen fail sadly in their notions of the dig- 



16 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



nity of any king except their own. We reached 
Saint Martin's at five ; the mountains were cloud- 
less, and Mont Blanc shone splendidly : there is 
no spot from which it appears to so much ad- 
vantage as at the bridge of Saint Martin's, whence 
it is seen in all its beauty and vastness. The heat 
to-day has been excessive. 

Y2th. — Went in a char-a-banc, a sort of car- 
riage like a sofa placed on wheels, to the baths 
of St. Gervais. This is so little out of the usual 
route, by Chede, and so pleasant a detour, that all 
visitors to Chamouny should go or return by it ; 
it is a little fairy spot, in a beautiful valley, where 
excellent accommodation may be had en pension, 
hot mineral baths for the sick, and delightful 
walks around this little paradise for the con- 
valescent. At the back of the house, a little w r ay 
up the glen, there is a fine cataract ; and one of 
the pleasures of this place is its solitude, amidst 
scenes so beautiful and wild, that it would be dif- 
ficult to find it without a guide. After breakfast- 
ing there, we crossed the valley of the Arve to 
Chede, and proceeded by the usual route to Servoz, 
where we refreshed our mules, and enjoyed the 
delicious bread, honey, and milk, with which we 
were served. The hostess looked as if the world 
had smiled upon her since 1821. A new house 
had been built, with excellent accommodations for 
travellers ; for many/ in visiting the mountains 



SERVOZ. 



17 



around Mont Blanc, start from this place for the 
Buet ; and good guides for the excursion are found 
here. I was amused upon being immediately re- 
cognised by mine hostess, as the Englishman who, 
three years before, had been indebted to her for a 
coarse needle and worsted to make a temporary 
repair of his clothes, torn in a flourishing descent 
from a mule. This performance as tailor took 
place in the presence of the Crown Princess of 
Denmark and her suite, who were then travelling 
incog. : they had come in thoroughly drenched 
from a storm which they had encountered in their 
descent that morning from Chamouny. Jupiter 
Pluvius had been regardless of rank ; and if the 
pelting was to prove the princess's temper, she came 
off triumphantly ; I cannot pay this compliment to 
some of her draggle-tailed and unhappy suite. 

Close to the new inn at Servoz there is now 
established, for the sale of the plants and minerals 
of Mont Blanc, a shop, where the dealers, like 
those at Chamouny, sell the productions of other 
countries, however distant, as specimens from 
around Mont Blanc. 

The deep gorge above Pont Pellisier, on the 
road to Chamouny, is one of the finest spots in 
these mountains, and is particularly impressive 
upQn the traveller who makes his first approach to 
the great chain of the Alps by this route. The first 
view of the glaciers can never realise the expecta- 



18 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



tions of any visitor. That of Bossons appears like a 
small white mass protruded into the valley ; but its 
magnitude is relative : the enormous scale of the 
surrounding objects, far beyond those which the 
eye has been practised in measuring, — except it 
be that of an Alpine mountaineer, — deceives the 
observer ; and it is only when he approaches close 
to the Glacier of Bossons, that a true idea can 
be formed of the grandeur of these magnificent 
masses. 

On entering Chamouny, I recognised my old 
guide Michael Balma : on inquiry, we learnt that 
he was engaged for to-morrow ; but as we shall 
stay a day at Chamouny, I have promised to em- 
ploy him as our guide to Courmayeur ; he will 
go to Martigny, and return to-morrow. We have 
put up at the Hotel de Londres, where, on a 
former occasion, I and my family met with great 
attention and civility. 

I3tk. — We were annoyed this morning, on 
finding that we were not allowed to take a guide 
for this day only, in order to receive the services 
of Michael Balma to-morrow. By the regulations 
of the guides, we cannot dismiss one, and take 
another, without just complaint against him : we 
therefore determined to ascend the Montanvert 
without a guide. On starting, a boy, who had 
undertaken to carry our sketching apparatus, was 
met by the guide -en -chef, who drove him back, 



MONT AN VERT. 



19 



and threatened him with punishment for accom- 
panying us. I had been on the Montanvert before, 
and anticipated no difficulty in going without a 
director; but it was not long before an attempt at 
a short cut bewildered us, and we were indebted 
to a boy, who was gathering strawberries, for being 
led into the right path again : for this civility, the 
boy was scolded by some guides who met us 
ascending the mountain. I am not sure that we 
bore with patience this tyrannous interference, — it 
was evidently of less moment to them that our 
necks should be broken, than that the laws of 
Chamouny should be infringed. Thus, because I 
had chosen the services of a particular guide, 
whose skill and care I was acquainted with, we 
were refused the assistance of any other, or even 
mules, for the day. 

The path to the Montanvert has now been 
made practicable for mules the whole way. We 
descended on the Mer de Glace ; the emotions 
excited by the objects which surround the observer 
in this situation cannot be described, — their vast- 
ness oppresses the mind. 

I was interested in marking the progress of a 
large block of granite, which, lying on the glacier, 
had advanced with it, descending towards the 
source of the Arveron, nearly a mile, since 1821. 
On returning to the house, dedicated A la nature, 
on the Montanvert, we found a pleasant party of 



20 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



young German officers, who were in the course of 
a pedestrian tour in Switzerland and Savoy. Their 
health, spirits, and gaiety, would have driven a 
hypochondriac mad. 

On our descent, we observed indications of an 
approaching storm, and were fortunate enough 
to reach our inn before it burst upon the valley. 
A vast dense cloud hung upon the Br even, throw- 
ing a shadow upon the mountain side as black as 
night ; the effect was sublime. Soon after our 
return, the storm began, darkness closed around 
us with an intenseness increased by the vivid 
lightning, which, when it burst on the clouds and 
mountains, lit them up in the most terrific man- 
ner. The thunder reverberated with an effect 
peculiar to a storm in the High Alps ; and we 
enjoyed its grandeur with much the same feelings 
as a traveller enjoys his good fortune when, dur- 
ing his visit to Naples, he witnesses an eruption 
of Vesuvius. 

14th. — The night was so stormy, that we de- 
cided upon staying for the clearing up of the 
weather, before we ventured across the Bon- 
homme. We walked in the morning to the 
source of the Arveron, where I was surprised at 
the change of appearance in the arch of the 
glacier whence the river issues. Three years since, 
its span was nearly two hundred feet ; now it was 
diminished to fifty, and its height not more than 



COL DE VOSA. 



21 



twenty feet. Whilst we looked on, a large mass 
of ice fell from the roof. All the glaciers in this 
valley have diminished since 1821 ; that of the 
Bossons protrudes less by two hundred feet into 
the valley than it did at that time. 

On our return to the Hotel de Londres, our 
guide, Michael Balma, advised our crossing the 
Col de Vosa, and reaching Conta mines to-day. 
He thought that the weather had cleared up ; but 
there was little weather -wisdom in Michael's 
advice, as we have been thoroughly drenched in 
our passage. About twelve o'clock we started 
on mules, and soon after passing the village of 
Ouches, began to ascend. The storm of last night 
had destroyed the paths and road in some places, 
particularly where the torrents from the moun- 
tain dashed across the route, and we saw groups 
of people, principally women, actively employed, 
felling young trees, making up banks, and re- 
pairing the injuries : a priest, with folded arms, 
encouraged them to labour — by his presence. The 
women had fastened their petticoats so oddly about 
their legs, that the dress appeared like the trou- 
sers of a Greek galiongee. 

The weather, which by holding up 'had decoyed 
us on our journey, now threatened us again ; and 
we had not attained half the summit of the Vosa 
before the clouds rapidly enveloped us, and spoilt 
the view of the valley of Chamouny, which from 



22 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



this pass is celebrated. Our ascent by a tortuous 
path up the side of the mountain was in one place 
very striking, from the steepness of the ascent 
and zio-zas; course of the road. The foremost 
mule appeared to the rider of the second to be 
placed on a dangerous shelf above him ; and the 
effect was frightful, of seeing the sky beneath 
the belly of the upper mule, though the animals 
were only a few feet apart. The remainder of 
the ascent to the Col de Vosa was in a dense 
cloud. On reaching a chalet, we procured some 
milk from an old woman who resided in it, less, 
she said, to make butter and cheese — the usual 
occupation of the inhabitants of these wretched 
hovels in the summer — than induced by poverty 
to take up her residence there whilst it was en- 
durable. Our descent from the col was over 
a slaty path, upon which we frequently slipped, 
for it was too dangerous to continue on our mules ; 
and though rain still fell, before we reached the 
torrent which descends from the glaciers of 
Bionassey, we found ourselves below the clouds. 
The torrent was swollen by the rain, and, tumbling 
with violence over the rocks, appeared to bar all 
further progress. We here remounted, and our 
guide pointed out where we should force the 
mules to enter the torrent, whilst he went further 
up, to where, with the help of his pole, and leap- 
ing from rock to rock, he was able to cross to us. 



CONTAMINES. 



23 



The undertaking to ford it with our mules was 
apparently one of the greatest danger. With 
some difficulty I made my mule enter the water ; 
and though the beast sunk sometimes to the sad- 
dle between the rocks, which formed the bed of 
the torrent, I crossed safely ; my friend followed ; 
and we could not suppress our wonder at the 
firm and sure-footed character of our mules. 
Michael Balma soon overtook us. We had not 
left the ford a quarter of an hour, before we met 
an English gentleman and lady, travelling on 
mules, without a guide, and thoroughly drenched. 
They said they had left Chapiu that morning, had 
crossed the Bon-homme, and, after quarrelling 
with their guide at Contamines, had proceeded 
alone to Chamouny. We sent back Michael 
Balma to assist the lady across the torrent, whilst 
we proceeded to Contamines. The rain increased ; 
and though occasional glimpses only were caught 
of the scenery through which we passed, it was 
enough to assure us of how much of the grandeur 
and beauty of our route we lost by the unfavour- 
able state of the weather. We reached Contamines 
at six o'clock, thoroughly soaked. A good fire, 
refreshment, and active attention, soon restored us 
to comfort and good humour. 

15tk. — We thought the weather too doubtful 
to cross the mountains to-day, as the object of our 
journey would be defeated if we could neither see 



•24 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the country nor sketch ; but we rode on in the 
valley to the little church of Notre Dame de la 
Gorge. It was a fete, and people of the sur- 
rounding country in their holyday dresses made 
the scene a gay one : they come from villages 
ten or twelve hours distant to this fete. We re- 
cognised in the assembly a pretty girl who had 
waited upon us at the baths of St. Gervais. The 
church is situated in a little nook at the foot o 
Mont Jo vet, or Montjoie, close to the gorge whence 
the torrent of the Bourant issues. The gay dresses 
of the peasantry were strikingly contrasted with 
the singular seclusion and solitude of this little 
spot. We were fortunate in having this relief to 
the tedium of our delay at Contamines. In the 
evening we rode down to the village of Bion- 
nay. The valley is highly cultivated, and very 
beautiful. 

]6th.- — The morning, for which we had waited 
patiently, assured by our guide that it would be 
a fine day, whistled its entrte at our windows, 
with an accompaniment of clouds and rain. De- 
tention at an inn by bad weather has, I believe, 
been often described ; but by none, I think, so 
well as my friend " Geoflry Crayon," in his little 
tale of the " Stout Gentleman." We looked 
out at five o'clock, again at half-past six, seven, 
and eight, — no prospect of its ceasing to pour; 
nor were the mountains visible ; and to see them 



CONT AMINES. 



25 



had brought us seven hundred miles from home. 
At length we ordered breakfast. In the salle a 
manger we discovered a barometer : chairs were 
instantly mounted ; but we found that the scale 
was fixed only with a pin, and the impatient 
observer might at will indicate the atmospheric 
pressure at 30° or 31° — but, alas ! the sunshine 
would not follow. Ten o'clock came ; a bit of 
blue sky was seen — it was transient; the peasant 
girls still wore their upper petticoats turned up 
and tied over their heads. We worked, to pass the 
time, upon some sketches, and spoilt them. We 
were not in the humour for happy efforts. 

Some travellers who had reached Contamines 
last evening determined to start to-day for the 
Allee Blanche, and their preparation gave us 
hope ; they were of opinion that the weather 
would clear off before mid-day. They started at 
eleven ; the vapours of the sky soon afterwards 
dispersed, and ours with them ; and with a fairer 
prospect of fine weather, we left Contamines at one 
o'clock. Our route lay again through the valley 
to Notre Dame de la Gorge ; but leaving the little 
dell in which the church is situated on our right, 
we ascended by a steep and rugged path formed 
with large stones. This road brought us to the 
chalets of Nant Bourant. Before our arrival 
there, Michael took us to see the cataract of the 
Bourant ; it is near the path, but can only be 

c 



26 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



viewed from above. In its descent it swept round 
an angle in the rocks, which increased its noise 
and violence. We afterwards heard rather than 
saw the torrent, from the bridge of Nant Bourant, 
forcing its way at a vast depth beneath us. After 
passing the chalets, a rough path brought us 
through a pine-forest to a rich pasturage belonging 
to the chalets of Mont Jovet : these are situated 
on a small plain bearing the name of the moun- 
tain, at which we rested our mules, and obtained 
some delicious milk, whilst we enjoyed the fine 
prospect of the valley we had traversed, rich in 
pasturages and forests. Thousands of magnifi- 
cent pines here decay, that cannot be employed 
for w ant of roads by which to carry them from 
these mountains : the peasant who needs a tree 
for building pays only twenty sous for one, select- 
ing it where he pleases ; and if for firewood, 
eight sous. For the pasturage of five cow t s in the 
mountains, eight francs are paid for the season. 

From the chalets we ascended by a steep and 
dangerous path that overhung a very deep de- 
clivity ; and in one of our windings on this ridge 
the mules' hoofs were within a foot of the brink, 
beneath which, at the depth of three or four hun- 
dred feet, a torrent falling from a great height 
dashed across a chasm, above which our path 
lay. Our feelings were appalled, in spite of 
the preparation we had received, in our journey 



COL DE GAUCHE. 



27 



hither, from the scenes of wildness and danger 
through which we had passed. As we ascended, 
the savageness of the route increased. We had 
long left the forests below us; and the rhodo- 
dendron was the largest shrub that we saw on the 
Plan des Dames. In the centre of this little plain 
is a heap of stones, to which our guide, with a 
sort of sacred feeling, desired each of us to add one 
— a duty, he said, which every passing traveller 
performed towards the wild tomb of a lady of 
rank (tradition, of course, says a princess), who, 
with her suite, was overwhelmed here in a storm 
she encountered in crossing these mountains. 
We complied with this Celtic custom, paid our 
tribute, and continued our ascent. We soon 
crossed some beds of snow, and reached what, 
from the valley of Mont Jovet, we thought to be 
the Col de Bon-homme, but it was the Col de 
Gauche. The strange and rugged forms of two 
of the pinnacles of rock bear the names of the 
Bon-homme and the Femme du Bon-homme. 
The name of the pass is said, and with great pro- 
bability, to be derived from a humane individual 
who formerly established a place of refuge here 
for the travellers who had occasion to traverse 
the mountain. From the cross on this summit the 
view down the valley which we had ascended was 
strikingly beautiful, to where it was terminated 
by Mont Varens, the pinnacled heights above the 



28 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



village of St. Martins, near Sallenche. From the 
extremity of the valley the eye traced the course 
of its ascent through its cultivated portion, yellow 
with corn, to the pines, chalets, and pasturages. 
Above these the bare and rugged mountains ended 
in scathed peaks, glaciers, and eternal snow. 

Our route, after passing the Col de Gauche, lay 
on the left, behind the Bon-homme ; and we had 
still an hour's ascent over a path less dangerous, 
but rendered more difficult by rocks and torrents. 
We descended from our mules, by the advice of 
our guide, and scrambled our way to the summit, 
a spot marked by a cross, 7900 English feet above 
the level of the sea. Here two paths were open 
to us, one by the Col de Fours, which was the 
shortest and most difficult ; the other by Chapiu : 
we decided upon the latter, because Michael had 
heard one of the party who had started before us 
from Contamines state their intention to cross by 
the Col de Fours, and there was not accommodation 
enough for another party at the chalets de Motet, 
to which that road led. The view, looking into 
the valley of Beaufort, on the south of the Bon- 
homme, is very fine, where the range of mountains 
between the Tarentaise and the Maurienne bound 
in their vastness and distance the extraordinary 
panorama presented on this pass, the first that we 
have seen from such a situation, and it is impos- 
sible to imagine one more sublime. 



COL DE BON-HOMME — CHAPIU. 29 



On our descent to Chapiu a singularly beau- 
tiful object presented itself — a mountain in the 
direction of the Vanoise was seen towering over 
the lower ranges of the Tarentaise : it seemed to 
be an enormous pyramid of snow ; its angles, 
sharply defined, were brightly illuminated by the 
setting sun : it was an object so beautiful, that 
once seen it can never be forgotten. After a 
fatiguing descent of two hours and a half on foot, 
across torrents, bogs, and other obstacles, we 
reached the chalets of Chapiu, a group of a dozen 
stone hovels in a savage glen . We entered one of 
these, which was patronised by our guide. Hos- 
pitality sold here, was indicated by a bush of 
rhododendron tied to a stick, and kept on the 
gable by the weight of some stones ; it was not a 
sign of wine, for none was to be had there, but it 
was a hint for eau de vie. Michael had provided 
wine and bread, &e. at Contamines. The hovel of 
which we took possession consisted of two dens, 
miscalled chambers, the outer one, " serving for 
kitchen, for parlour, and hall," was about five feet 
wide and ten feet long, with a fire-place at one 
end, but no chimney. The sleeping- room con- 
tained three miserable couches, a long table on 
trestles in the centre, and two forms of the same 
length. At the end was the only window in this the 
chief hotel of Chapiu ; it contained four very small 
panes of glass when fitted in, but this was only on 



30 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



company occasions, two bars of iron crossed being 
the usual check against rats or weasels, for nothing 
larger could enter. A small lamp, of classic form, 
rendered the darkness visible, but scarcely enabled 
us to see that our dormitory had been recently 
fitted up for the travelling season. This discovery 
I accidentally made by thrusting my fingers into 
the yet soft mud and lime with which the walls 
were plastered. Here, however, we had brought 
good appetites and great fatigue : the first gave a 
relish to delicious milk and eggs ; and the second, 
soon after, gave us up, wrapt in our cloaks, to 
sound sleep on the coarse palliasses. 

Ylth. — We might have slept till doomsday if 
we had slept until the light from our six-inch 
window had awakened us ; but Michael's bustle 
to light a fire smoked and roused us. We found 
him putting our boots in the best possible order 
for our journey with cirage a la Chapiu — butter. 
This was necessary, after the soaking which they 
had received in the snow and torrents. A break- 
fast of toasted bread in delicious milk prepared 
us for our journey ; and six francs, her demand, 
satisfied our hostess. 

Our route lay up the valley of the torrent, 
which rises in the Glacier del Oratoire, on the 
south-east side of Mont Blanc. The path was 
rugged and difficult ; no living sound was heard 
except that of the marmot, whose shrill whistle 



CHALETS OF MOTET. 



31 



occasionally disturbed the deep sense of solitude 
with which the mind of the traveller is oppressed 
in his first visit to these alpine regions. Yet 
there was a spirit, a vivacity, excited by the cool 
freshness of the morning and the purity of the air 
that we breathed in, which is never felt in the 
same degree out of the mountains. 

In about two hours we reached, by a rugged 
and difficult path, the Hameau de Glacier, and 
soon after the chalets of Motet. Like Chapiu, 
this place generally divides the journey from 
Chamouny to Courmayeur, and is the place of rest 
for those who pass by the Col du Fours ; the route 
is shorter than by Chapiu, but the col is higher 
by a thousand feet than that of the Bon-homme, 
and the path more difficult. Here we met the 
party setting out for Courmayeur which had yes- 
terday left Contamines before us. Upon describing 
and comparing our accommodations, we had rea- 
son to be pleased with the comforts of our hostelrie 
at Chapiu ; at Motet neither candle nor lamp 
could be procured. 

From these chalets the ascent to the Col de 
la Seigne is very steep and fatiguing ; and in one 
place the idea of danger was strongly excited by 
our guide, who lay on his back towards the 
mountain slope, where a very narrow path skirted 
a precipice, and held our coats until the mules 
were beyond the point of danger. The path was 



32 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



slippery, from the wet and loose slate of which it 
was composed ; but the precaution was appalling, 
and, I think, unnecessary ; though we certainly 
could not see the bottom of the valley immediately 
beneath us as we passed this spot. 

After ascending about an hour and a half from 
Motet, we attained the summit of the Col de la 
Seigne, about 8000 feet, where an alpine view of 
extraordinary magnificence burst upon us. We 
looked upon Mont Blanc, and along the course of 
the valleys which divide Piemont from the Va- 
lais, and extend nearly thirty miles on the eastern 
side of its enormous mass, through the Allee 
Blanche, the Val Veni, and the Val d'Entreves, 
to the Col de Ferret. Two immense pyramids 
of rugged rock rear from the valley their scathed 
heads, and appear like guards to the " monarch 
of mountains beyond and below them lay 
the little lake of Combal, whence issues one of 
the sources of the Doira Baltea; and down the 
sides of Mont Blanc appeared to stream the 
glaciers of the Allee Blanche and the Miage; 
whilst the distant peaks which overhang the 
western side of this long valley or valleys (for dif- 
ferent portions of it, from the Col de la Seigne to 
the Col de Ferret, bear different names) give a 
peculiarly grand and severe aspect to the scene : 
among these the Geant and the Grand Jorasse are 
distinguished. The eastern side of the valley is 



COL DE LA SEIGNE. 



33 



formed by the Cramont, and a range of mountains 
which extend to the Col de Ferret, and terminate 
the vista in Mont Velan, and the masses which 
surround the pass of the Great St. Bernard. The 
summit of Mont Blanc was occasionally enveloped 
in clouds, and the changes which these produced 
upon the scene were often strikingly beautiful. 
Most travellers, whose expectations have been 
formed upon the descriptions in guide-books, are 
led to believe that the eastern side of Mont Blanc 
is one vast precipice, from the summit down to 
the Allee Blanche : it is certainly much more 
abrupt than towards the vale of Chamouny ; but 
no such anticipation will be realised in the magni- 
ficent view from the Col de la Seigne. 

From this col, leading across the great 
chain of the Alps, we began our descent over 
some beds of perpetual snow, which, lying on 
the northern side of the pass, remain unmelted. 
Though steep, these are not dangerous, as the 
feet sink two or three inches and give firmness 
to the step. Scarcely any melting takes place on 
the surface of the snow, unless where the soil has 
been washed over, or fallen so as to cover it. 
Generally, the snow melts below, in contact with 
the earth • and this is one of the causes of ava- 
lanches, where the mass which slips acquires 
momentum enough to rush on. Caution is gene- 
rally necessary near the edges of these beds of 

c2 



34 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



snow, where it is thin, lest the traveller should 
sink through, perhaps two or three feet. After a 
tedious descent to the first pasturage, at the base 
of the two immense pyramids which formed so 
striking a feature from the summit, we sat down 
upon the short and soft grass of the pasturage of 
the chalets of the Allee Blanche, to rest the mules 
and ourselves, and took refreshment, which we had 
brought with us. The life and spirit of such en- 
joyment as this is only known to alpine travellers. 
The sward around us was enamelled with beautiful 
flowers : of these, the broad patches of the deep 
blue gentian were the richest in colour ; the alpine 
ranunculus, and a hundred other varieties, embel- 
lished the place where we rested ; being surrounded 
by, and in the immediate vicinity of, the loftiest 
mountains in Europe. 

Soon after leaving this delightful spot, we 
skirted the little lake of Combal by a very narrow 
and dangerous path. The mule on which my 
friend rode attempted, in order to exhibit his ob- 
stinacy or his courage, to turn upon this narrow 
way ; but there not being sufficient room, his tail 
overhung the water, whilst his fore feet were 
resting in a nearly erect posture against the rocks 
which bordered the lake : a blow from Michael 
was the only applause that he received for his 
feat, and he then wisely and safely resumed his 
route. After passing the lake at the lower ex- 



ALLEE BLANCHE. 



35 



tremity across an embankment of great thickness 
and strength, the path descends on the left side of 
the torrent, which struggles with horrid violence 
in continued cataracts down the ravine for several 
miles, particularly where, in passing by the glacier 
of Miage, our route lay amidst rocks and stones, 
the detritus of the mountain, brought down by the 
glacier, of which it concealed the base and sides. 
The ice being covered by the stones and soil, the 
path was so dangerous that we followed the advice 
of our guide, and descended from our mules. We 
were occupied nearly two hours in passing this 
moraine, as the guides here call these termina- 
tions of the glaciers. Sometimes we were at the 
water's edge, at others on a pathless ridge, some 
hundreds of feet above the Doire, walking over 
loose stones, and these rendered less secure by the 
numerous streams which, falling from the heights 
above us, crossed our path to increase the torrent 
foaming beneath. At length we escaped from 
this fatiguing part of our route, and entered the 
beautiful meadows of the Val Veni, that are sepa- 
rated from the Val d'Entreves by a high ridge 
which skirts the forest of St. Nicolas. There are 
no chalets in the Val Veni, but several granges, 
in which the great quantities of hay made in the 
meadows and slopes of this valley are stored. 

The forest of Saint Nicolas, which we traversed 
on our way to Courmayeur, is opposite to some 



36 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



extensive buildings at the foot of the Glacier de 
Brenva : formerly these were occupied by miners, 
who prepared the lead and copper ores raised near 
this place ; but the expenses having exceeded the 
profits, these buildings are now falling to decay. 
Across the valley we saw the beautiful glacier of 
Brenva appearing through the enormous larches 
and pines of the forest, presenting to us a scene 
deservedly esteemed one of the finest in the Alps. 
We now rapidly descended by a narrow road 
which fearfully overhangs the lower range of the 
glacier of the Brenva, whose sides were covered 
with masses of granite and rocks of great mag- 
nitude. The torrent which we had seen rushing 
through the valley passed beneath the glacier, and 
reappeared increased by a stream, which issued 
from an arch at the termination of the glacier, like 
that of the Arveron in the Vale of Chamouny. 

In the valley below us lay the village of 
Entreves ; and towering high above it, on our 
left, were the Geant and its pass, over which 
Mrs. Campbell and her daughter, with a party 
of guides, had lately travelled from Chamouny 
to Courmayeur. The road improved as we ap- 
proached the latter place ; and we soon got into 
excellent quarters at the Albergo dell' Angela. 



37 



CHAPTER III. 

Courmayeur — La Salle — Accommodation at the Hotel a la 
Rose — Aosta — Val d'Aosta — Chatillon — Val Tour- 
nanche. 

August \§th. — We found our accommodation 
here far superior to what we had expected. Many 
Piemontese during the season visit the baths and 
mineral springs of Courmayeur. A good, table 
d'hote is served at the Angela; and the sublime 
scenery of the neighbourhood (easily accessible in 
short excursions) renders a brief visit to Courma- 
yeur, in the month of August, a source of great 
pleasure. My recollection of the magnificent view 
of the glacier of the Brenva, from the forest of 
St. Nicolas, induced me to return to it to-day 
to make a drawing of the scene. Whilst I was 
engaged, the silence of these solitudes was very 
impressive : it was broken only at long intervals 
by the distant thunder of the avalanches falling 
from the glacier, whose sharp, bright, and enormous 
masses, seen across the valley, bade defiance to 
conjecture upon its distance ; it was four or five 
times as far off as it appeared to be; and the 
immense moraine, which took the course of the 



38 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



valley when it left that of the glacier on the 
mountain, extended more than a league towards 
Courmayeur. The soil which lay on its sides nou- 
rished the roots of enormous pines, and concealed 
the ice upon which it rested. 

Few inhabited situations are so sublime as 
Courmayeur. Mont Blanc, and the vast peaks 
which rise on its Piemontese side, are, in ap- 
pearance, so immediately above the town, that 
from the street they excite an appalling impres- 
sion by their height and proximity ; all the sur- 
rounding objects are so enormous, that those by 
which we usually estimate magnitude dwindle 
into utter insignificance. 

We left Courmayeur about three o'clock, to 
descend the valley of Aosta ; our route lay on 
the left bank of the Doire. We soon passed the 
valley on the right which leads through Pre St. 
Didier to the pass of the Little St. Bernard. In 
our descent to Morges we observed many of the 
enormous chestnut-trees for which this valley is 
celebrated, and already found the vine cultivated. 
We had intended to rest at Morges ; but the 
auberge was too unpromising, and we proceeded 
to La Salle. # Here a fat and filthy landlady, 
breathing the sweets of eau de vie and garlic, 
welcomed us in a torrent of Piemontese jargon, 

* This village derives its name from the Salassi, who 
anciently inhabited the upper valley of Aosta. 



BIELLA* 57 

The cross route which we took, as the shortest 
to Biella, was six leagues. On the hills it was 
steep and rugged, and even on the plain in bad 
condition. The glimpses which we occasionally 
caught of the mountains, as the clouds cleared off, 
caused our regret that we should have left Ivrea so 
hastily; and we determined, on arriving at Biella, 
to stay there to-day, instead of proceeding to Gatti- 
nara. The rain ceased, so as to enable us to walk 
out. Beyond the Vercelli gate, a grove leads to 
a terrace above the river Cervo, which presents a 
prospect of great extent and beauty. In the plains 
of Piemont we distinctly saw the cities of Novara 
and Vercelli : numerous spires and towers marked 
other places of less importance ; and the vine- 
covered hills, which formed the immediate fore- 
ground of this delightful scene, between which we 
caught the view of the plain, made up a picture 
of singular beauty. In our rambles we obtained 
some delicious peaches from a well-stocked garden ; 
and walking in another direction, we met a sick 
man, brought by his neighbours from the country 
to the hospital of Biella. Four of his friends 
carried him on a sort of bier, covered closely over 
with a cloth, which w r as dripping wet from the 
rain : he had been brought from some distance. 
Two other friends accompanied the bearers, to 
relieve them in this- act of kindness : their patois 
w r as an obstacle to our obtaining any account of 

d 2 



58 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the poor fellow. We afterwards passed the hospi- 
tal, and, looking in, saw with pleasure its clean- 
liness, and the attention to the comforts of the 
patients exercised by the Sisters of Charity. 

This hospital was formerly a nunnery, and the 
figure of a female saint or two still decorated the 
facade. The conversion of a den of idlers into a 
hospital to assist the unfortunate, was a delightful 
sight ; and the contrast was striking between the 
cloistered mummeries formerly prescribed to the 
nuns by the patroness of their order, and their 
present usefulness, and kindness to the wretched. 
We found the inn at Biella excellent : this pro- 
bably arose from the number of visitors, pilgrims, 
to the sacred hill of Our Lady of Mount Oropa, a 
celebrated sanctuary, about six miles from Biella. 

We had another display of the evolutions of a 
city guard this evening, which, like that of Ivrea, 
reminded us forcibly of the army of Bombastes 
Furioso. 

24^. — Left Biella at six o'clock. At Cossata 
we found that the bridge had been swept away 
by the recent storm, and that its injuries had 
greatly exceeded the limits of the first report; 
the vines, corn, and hemp, had been destroyed to 
an extent of two millions of francs damage. We 
were obliged to make a detour, that led us for 
about five miles over a new road, which would 
have driven Macadam mad. Stones were left as 



GATTINARA — A COQUETTE. 



59 



large as quartern loaves, and between them we 
sometimes sunk almost axle-deep in clay, in which 
the stones were imbedded. At St. Giacomo, how- 
ever, we entered the high road from Vercelli to 
Gattinara, which is generally excellent. Here we 
were delighted with a fine view of Monte Rosa, 
towering over the lower line of the Alps ; and on 
the left we distinguished the peak of our enemy 
the Cervin, which had refused us a passage at 
its feet. 

Every town and village from Ivrea had, in the 
occupation of the inhabitants, shewn the propriety 
of the name of the district, Canavois : the whole 
population was engaged in stripping and otherwise 
preparing hemp. Whether walking or sitting, 
alone or in groups in the street before their 
houses, all were thus occupied. It appeared to be 
as much the amusement as the business of every 
one, from childhood to old age. After passing 
through Maserana, we stopped to take refreshment 
at Gattinara, where we were struck with a change 
in the costume of the women : the hair was dressed 
with radiating pins, as among the Comasques ; and 
many of the women were beautiful, at least they 
appeared to us to be so, after the dirt and deformity 
with which we had lately been acquainted in the 
Var d'Aosta ; but about one there could be no 
mistake. Opposite to the inn where we stopped 
at Gattinara, the Albergo del Falcone, we observed 



60 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



a remarkably beautiful young woman, dressed, 
not en bourgeoise, like her neighbours, but a la 
mode Franpaise. She coquetted at the door of 
her own house ; mounted to her chamber, which 
we overlooked; went to. her toilet, then walked 
out, returned, and sat employing herself at the 
door, to receive the admiration of two painters, 
a soldier, and three priests ; but as we knew of 
no other gazers than ourselves, we had vainly 
thought that this exhibition was got up for the 
fine arts, and were not aware that the army 
and the church were participators. She had, 
however, observed us all at the windows of the 
different chambers of the inn. At length we heard 
some keen rogues tittering in the next room, and 
popping suddenly upon them (for our way out lay 
through their chamber), we caught the priests 
gazing on the forbidden fruit with very different 
feelings from those of St. Anthony. 

Soon after leaving Gattinara, we crossed the 
Sesia by a horse- ferry, and, passing through the 
town of Romagnana, turned up the Val Sesia, 
driving through a beautiful valley, where the hills 
were richly wooded to their summits. Castles, 
churches, and oratories, relieved the masses of 
foliage. But the pleasure which these scenes gave 
us was soon destroyed by an unfavourable change 
of weather. Before we reached Borgo Sesia, the 
clouds descended and concealed the hills ; rain 



VARALLO — SACRO MONTE. 



61 



soon followed ; and the remainder of our journey 
to Varallo, and its celebrated Sacro Monte, ex- 
posed us to an ablution which we did not consider 
at all necessary to the feelings with which we 
visited La Nuova Gerusalemme nel Sacro Monte 
di Varallo, as the guide-book calls this singular 
place of pilgrimage. We got into good quarters 
at the Gran Falcone ; and to-morrow we shall add 
to the number of visitors, but not of devotees. 

25tk. — We ascended to the new Jerusalem. 
The view of Varallo and the Val Sesia was very 
fine from many points, particularly from the turret 
that overlooked the valley by which we reached 
the town yesterday : but nature, here, was less in- 
teresting than the art of this extraordinary place. 
On attaining the summit, w 7 e passed a chapel and 
crucifix, the ex voto of a pious German sergeant- 
major, as the inscription announces. A guide was 
necessary, and twenty were ready to offer their 
services, to point out all the chapels in the order 
of their numbers. The spot of ground which they 
occupy is small; but, from its varied surface, and 
their singular labyrinth-like arrangement, it seemed 
to be very extensive. 

This remarkable place has nearly fifty chapels 
upon it, besides the church, fountains, &c. These 
chapels have groups of figures modelled in terra 
cotta, painted end clothed, and so placed and 
composed on the floors of the chapels, that they 



62 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



represent some of the principal events in the life of 
Christ. The chapels — they ought rather, perhaps, 
to be called oratories — are never entered : they are 
merely frames, or cases, for the subjects grouped 
within them, which, seen from two or three holes 
in front, like raree-shows, excite the devotion of the 
faithful, and the disgust, except in a few instances 
where they exhibit skill as works of art, of the 
merely curious. Externally, these chapels are rich 
in the architectural display of facades, porticoes, 
domes, &c. ; the figures within are of the size of life. 

The first subject is the fall of man : Adam 
and Eve are represented, amidst animals of all 
sorts and sizes, from the elephant to the rabbit. 
In the second chapel, the series which refer to 
Christ commences with the Annunciation. One 
of the large compositions, representing the Murder 
of the Innocents, contains above sixty figures, the 
size of life, besides the painted groups on the walls, 
so arranged as to assist the composition. All the 
walls are thus painted, and many of them are 
masterly productions, not unworthy of Pelegrini 
Tibaldi, whose name is found in the list of those 
who were employed upon the works of the Sacro 
Monte di Varallo, together with those of Gau- 
denzia Ferrari, Fiammingho, and other artists of 
eminence, as painters, sculptors, and architects. 
The Transfiguration is represented upon an enor- 
mous scale. The group in the foreground is with 



SACRO MONTE. 



63 



the demoniac boy ; on the mountain, an immense 
modelled mass, were the three disciples ; above 
them, Christ, with Moses and Elias; over these, 
painted on the walls and ceiling of the dome, were 
the host of heaven; and, above all, the Almighty. 
This subject occupied the highest and largest of the 
chapels, and the height of the whole composition, 
modelled and painted, was nearly a hundred feet. 

Much effect is produced by the appropriate 
situation of some of the subjects. The access to 
Christ laid in the sepulchre was by a vault where 
little light was admitted ; and as it was difficult, 
on entering from the open light, to distinguish any 
object at first, the effect was very imposing. As 
well as real drapery, many of the figures have 
real hair, which appears very grotesque ; some, 
however, are finely modelled in character and 
expression. I was particularly struck with the 
head of a female in the Visitation. The execu- 
tioners conducting to Calvary, or otherwise em- 
ployed in inflicting suffering on Christ, are, to in- 
crease their disgusting characters, modelled with 
goitres appended to their throats — a proof that they 
are not considered beauties here. No offence arose 
from the models being painted, because, as the sub- 
jects could only be seen from the peep-holes, and 
not in passing from one of these to another, as much 
illusion was often produced as by a picture. 

On the Scala Santa we saw some devotees 



64 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



crawling this way to heaven, encouraged by a con- 
cession of plenary indulgence granted by Pope 
Clement XII. to all who would climb these eight- 
and-tw 7 enty marble steps on their knees, say on 
each a Pater, Ave, and Gloria, and kiss devoutly 
each step. A marble tablet at the bottom of the 
stairs records the duty and the reward; and the 
faithful are informed by it, that these stairs are in 
exact imitation of the Scala Santa at Rome ! 

This extraordinary place originated in the piety 
of the blessed Bernardino Caimo, a noble Milanese, 
who obtained in 1486, from Pope Innocent VIII., 
a faculty to found this sanctuary. Only three or 
four chapels were built in the time of the founder ; 
but so great was its reputation for sanctity, that 
princes and rich devotees contributed to its accom- 
plishment to the extent now observed. St. Carlo 
Borromeo twice visited it, in 1578 and 1584 ; and 
the pallet bedstead on which this patron saint of 
Milan died is preserved here as a holy relic for 
the adoration of the faithful. 

The church is handsome ; and the cloisters 
where the priests reside are in a beautiful situa- 
tion, commanding a view of Varallo and the lower 
Val Sesia. Whilst I was sketching this scene, one 
of the priests entered into conversation ; and learn- 
ing from me that we were going to Milan by the 
Lago Maggiore, he said there was a miracle worth 
our visiting at Santa Caterina de Sessa, on the 



VAL SESIA ROMAGNANA. 



65 



lake, where a large mass of rock which had fallen 
from the hill above the church, and which, if it 
had continued to fall, must have descended upon 
an image of the Virgin within the sacred edifice, 
was arrested by her miraculous power, and now 
remained, like the tomb of Mahomet, in the air 
over the church ; and he added, as a clincher, that 
he had passed his stick entirely around it in every 
direction ! As I did not belong to his church, I 
felt myself at liberty to doubt this. On the hill 
the priests have kindly established booths or shops 
for the sale of corone, i. e. crucifixes, Madonnas, 
beads, &c, which have acquired sanctity, and the 
power, in some cases, of working miracles, by 
having touched the bedstead of the blessed St. 
Carlo, or other relics possessed by the fraternity 
of the Nuovo Gerusalemme. 

But the body is provided for here as well as 
the soul, and there are two booths within the 
precincts for the sale of liqueurs, where we saw 
some of the devotees preparing for the plenary 
indulgence at the Scala Santa, by plenary in- 
dulgence in brandy. 

At Varallo, the bridge over the Sesia, a single 
arch of great span and height, and very narrow, 
is an exceedingly picturesque object, particularly 
when combined with the old houses which over- 
hang the torrent, and the hill above, crowned with 
the chapels. 



66 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



We returned to Romagnana, where, whilst our 
horse was refreshing, we took some wine, being 
invited to do so, in very bad English, by the land- 
lord, who swore that it was of the vintage of 1816, 
and availed himself of this opportunity to astonish 
his townsmen with his accomplishments in the 
lingua Inglese, which he had learnt in America : 
he had learnt, too, somewhere, to charge us four 
times as much as he ought to have done, or would 
have charged a Piemontese. 

The sun set soon after leaving Romagnana, and 
we were wrapt for some time in the splendour and 
beauty of the scene. Monte Rosa shone as bright 
as if lit up by the red flame from nitrate of stron- 
tian ; and the plains, upon which a mist began to 
rise, presented the appearance of a vast sea, bright- 
ened by the glories of the setting sun. It was 
late before we arrived at Borgomaniera, where a 
crowded inn, during the fair, for a long time pre- 
vented sleep : which was forbidden by the twang- 
ing of guitars, the noisy game of morra, and the 
roaring songs of drunken peasantry. 

26th. — We were roused at half-past four by the 
drums of some Piemontese soldiers ; and having 
soon after found two boatmen of the lake of Orta, 
we agreed with them, for twelve francs Milanese, 
to take our party, horse and gig, from Buccione 
to Omegna, the entire length of the lake, to be at 
our service for the day, and to put on shore or 



LAGO D'ORTA. 



67 



stop wherever we pleased. Whilst we breakfasted, 
the barcaroli (boatmen) proceeded to Buccione, a 
distance of three or four miles, to get the boats 
ready. We drove through the village of Gozzano, 
and enjoyed fine views of Monte Rosa and of the 
great chain, which, bounding the scenes in that di- 
rection, increased the beauty of the country through 
which we travelled. The first view o the lake 
of Orta, on descending to Buccione, is one of the 
most enchanting views that I have ever seen ; its 
tranquil waters are deeply embosomed amidst lofty 
mountains; and beyond these are the eternal snows 
of Monte Rosa and other parts of the great chain 
of the Alps ; whilst the richness of the forests and 
vegetation immediately surrounding the lake give 
to the scene a depth and character peculiar to its 
situation. A striking feature in the view, and one 
that greatly adds to its interest and its beauty, is 
the Isola Giulio, a little island in the midst of the 
lake, where a convent, a church, houses and gar- 
dens, crowd the rock, which they cover, and their 
white walls sparkle upon the deeply-coloured lake. 
Nearly opposite to the island is the promontory 
of Monte Giulio, crowned by a Franciscan con- 
vent. We descended to the neat village of Buc- 
cione, at the head of the lake, where there is a 
good inn. Our rude boats were ready. In one 
we sent the horse and volantin, and embarked in 
the other ourselves. We rowed to the base of the 
sanctuary of St. Francis, situated on the promon- 



68 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



tory. This also is a sacra monte, like that of Va- 
rallo, where we found nineteen chapels, containing 
groups in terra cotta illustrative of the life of St. 
Francis of Assise. The ascent to it is beautiful : 
the ground on the promontory is delightfully laid 
out, and the views from it are ofsingular beauty. 
The shores are so profusely enriched by vines 
and trees and flowers, that the whole appears 
like a beautiful garden, whence probably its name, 
Lago d'Orta : it was anciently known as the Lacus 
Cusius. We visited the Isola Giulio : the church 
upon it is of high antiquity, and is not without its 
tales of romance. San Giulio, who lived in the 
fourth century, and whose ashes are preserved in 
a subterranean vault, you ought to believe, de- 
stroyed a monstrous serpent which infested the 
island; one of its vertebrae (rather that of a whale, 
which answers the purpose quite as well,) is shewn 
to the faithful, who dare not doubt it. How these 
tales of the infancy of man and of society are pass- 
ing and have passed away ! Some have regretted 
that truth should thus prevail, and destroy the 
pleasure which they think attaches to credulous 
obedience. Thus poor Keats has beautifully said : 

" Do not all charms fly 
At the mere touch of cold philosophy ? 
There was an awful rainbow once in heaven : 
We know her woof, her texture ; she is given 
In the dull catalogue of common things; — 
Philosophy will clip an angel's wings." 



ISOLA GIULIO. 



69 



Bat there is a tale of interest about this island 
which happens to be true. Here Guilla, the wife of 
Barenger, the second king of the Lombards, took 
refuge, and resolutely defended herself against 
Otho, the first emperor of Germany, who had 
invaded Italy and deposed her husband. As early 
as the year 590, this island gave title to a duke- 
dom ; for Minulfo, then duke of San Giulio, 
was beheaded by xAjstolpho, king of Lombardy, 
for having favoured the descent of the Franks 
into Italy by the pass of the St. Gothard. The 
island appears to possess great strength. After 
our visits to the sanctuary and the Isola Giulio, 
we put in at the little town of Orta, where we 
were well and obligingly served at a good inn, 
and at not one half of what the cost of enter- 
tainment would have been at Baveno, a village 
situated on the shores of the Lago Maggiore, now 
only a few hours distant from us, but on the high 
road to Milan from the Simplon. We were told 
that a pedestrian excursion to Baveno might be 
made across the mountain which divides the 
Lago d'Orta from the Lago Maggiore, and that 
on its summit splendid views are presented of 
the numerous and beautiful lakes its panorama 
displays, and of the vast chain of the Alps seen 
from this elevation. A road also leads across the 
mountains, on the other side of the lake of Orta, 
to Varallo. These sources of enjoyment in short 



70 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



excursions, the moderate charges and excellent 
accommodation, at Orta, as head-quarters, induced 
me to think that I had never seen any spot so 
truly enjoyable. Yet this beautiful lake, not three 
hours out of the high road of the Simplon, is 
almost unknown ; and I was led to it simply by 
observing an indication in the map of a lake 
about ten miles long in the immediate vicinity 
of the Alps, and conjectured that it must be 
beautiful ; we found it infinitely to exceed our 
expectations. Excursions, and the chase in the 
mountains, bathing, boating, and fishing on the 
lake, and its being within a day's journey of 
Milan, of Turin, of Como, of Bellinzona, of Monte 
Rosa, and of the summit of the Simplon, make it, 
as a central station for a summer's residence, one 
of the most desirable spots on earth. 

From Orta, in about an hour, we landed at 
Omegna, a little town at the lower end of the 
lake ; here we discharged our boatmen, who, as 
we had not written our agreement at Borgoma- 
niera, swore that we had bargained for twelve 
French instead of Milanese francs, a difference 
of about one -fourth. This they would have gotten 
from us willingly for their services, but reluctantly 
obtained it from us by their roguery. The rascals 
grinned at their triumph, and asked for w r ine, to 
drink our healths, which they did not get ; how- 
ever, their success in cheating us put them in such 



LAGO MAGGIORE ISOLA BELLA. 71 



good humour, that we were followed by shouts of 
" Buona viaggia, Signori ! " 

Our route lay through the valley of the Nego- 
glia, by which the waters of the lake of Orta flow 
into the Lago Maggiore. The ride is beautiful, 
and over an excellent road into the great route 
of the Simplon, which it joins, near Gravellona : 
thence to Baveno, on the shores of the Lago Mag- 
giore, is about two miles. The first appearance 
of this lake to travellers from the Simplon is very 
charming. 

21th. — Visited the Isola Bella. I had intended 
to ascend towards the Monte Rosa by the Val 
Anzasca, but clouds were beginning to form around 
the summits of the mountains, and the appear- 
ance discouraged me. On the lake, however, the 
weather was still fine. The beautiful forms of the 
mountains which surround this part of the Lago 
Maggiore surpass, perhaps, those of any other of 
the northern lakes of Italy ; at least they are better 
seen, for they are not too distant, and the eye 
commands them from the borders of the lake 
to their summits. The islands also are lovely, 
with the exception of the Isola Bella, which has 
been spoiled by gimcracks that have exhausted 
the language of admiration of the French and 
Italian eulogists, whilst to us they appeared to be 
in execrably bad taste. The terraces have been 
raised to the form of a pyramid, and decorated 



72 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



at the angles with obelisks surmounted with 
flourishing tin ornaments ; and the trees have been 
trimmed so as to have become worthy of such 
company. This trash destroys half the pleasure 
which is derived from the beauty of the scenes 
around the shores of the lake, as they are presented 
to the observer from the Isola Bella. Whilst my 
friend visited the other islands to sketch, I bathed ; 
and afterwards returned to the shore, and wandered 
about in * the neighbourhood of Baveno till his 
return : we met again in the evening. He had 
been, he said, enchanted by the singing of some 
peasants ; and whilst he was yet describing it, we 
heard in the distance what he recognised to be 
the same sort of music. We leaned out of the 
windows of our room to listen : the sun had set 
beautifully, and darkness rapidly succeeded ; for 
in Italy, and at this season, twilight is of very 
short duration. The sounds came over the lake, 
and from its borders, of voices evidently increasing 
in number and distinctness as they approached 
us ; and we soon found that our minstrels, a 
considerable number of young villagers, were 
assembling beneath the windows of our inn. Our 
landlord supplied each with a bundle of hemp for 
them to strip : they formed a large circle, and 
threw the stalks of the hemp into the centre, where 
it was soon set on fire ; and the supply of the 
strippers kept up a cheerful blaze for several 



BAVENO. 



73 



hours. During this time, and amidst the fun and 
mirth and peals of laughter of this village crowd, 
a leader gave an occasional signal, which produced 
perfect silence, when some one began one of those 
beautiful airs which had so much delighted us at 
a distance. The whole party joined in harmony, 
and never have I been impressed in the same way 
by music. The airs which they sung were various, 
and the intervals of noisy mirth increased their 
sweetness. I recorded some of the music, but it 
requires the situation, the hour, and the circum- 
stance, to convey to another the pleasure which 
these airs associate with our remembrance of this 
evening. 



E 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER V. 

Shores of the Lago Maggiore — Statue of St. Carlo Borromeo — 
Sesto Calende — Strada Sempione — Milan — La Scala — 
Corso — Carbonari — Milanese Justice — Leonardo da Vinci's 
Last Supper — Modern Art at Milan — Frontiers of the Mi- 
lanese — Vercelli — Turin — The Superga. 

August 28th. — We left Baveno this morning at 
half-past four. At Belgirate, we had the first peep 
of the rock which overhangs Arona. The scenes 
along these shores are beautiful, and the construc- 
tion of the Strada Sempione is admirable. The 
attention is constantly diverted from art to nature, 
and from nature to art. It is not in civil engineer- 
ing only that the latter arrests attention. The 
colossal statue, in bronze, of Santo Carlo Borromeo 
is seen before arriving at Arona, on the right of 
the road, and we decided upon visiting it before 
we entered the town. A path leads, in twenty 
minutes, up to the hill, upon which the statue is 
placed, whence there are beautiful views of the 
lake. The height of the statue and pedestal is 
one hundred and twelve feet, of which the former 
is seventy-two feet. Though it is highly finished, 
there is a character of breadth and execution about 
it which makes its grandeur very impressive. 



STATUE OF ST. CARLO BORROMEO. 75 



From the strong resemblance which, it bears to all 
other memorials of S t0, Carlo, we may conclude 
that the likeness is excellent. The expression is 
beautiful, and the action that of benediction in the 
Catholic church : in his left hand he holds a bre- 
viary ; the right is extended ; the head is gently 
bent forward, as if looking down. The head and 
hands are cast from models made by Cerano ; they 
are admirably executed: the mildness, dignity, and 
benevolence of the countenance exceed all praise. 
The drapery is composed of sheets of metal, so 
ingeniously arranged, that the edges are concealed 
in the folds, and the whole has the appearance of 
a single cast. These metal sheets are supported 
within by a mass of masonry built upon the 
pedestal. A passage has been left in it, by which 
those who like to boast of the adventure may 
attain the head of the figure. We were told, but 
we did not prove it, that a man sitting within the 
nose could not reach the inside top of the head. 
The English have a queer sort of celebrity on the 
continent for odd exploits. Two of our country- 
men attempted to sustain this reputation by un- 
dertaking to breakfast within the booh held by the 
saint ; but the sun's rays darting upon the cover 
made it so insufferably hot, that it expelled these 
book-worms before they had half gratified their 
appetites. The appearance of the figure from 
without is very impressive : its vastness, compared 



76 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



with the surrounding objects, gives to it, in the 
scene in which it is placed, the appearance of 
Gulliver in Lilliput. 

On entering Arona, we passed beneath a rock, 
which, rising several hundred feet above the road, 
actually overhangs it. A few miles below Arona 
we crossed the Ticino, to which the lake again 
diminishes ; and, at Sesto Calende, we entered the 
Austro-Lombard frontier. There we were openly 
asked by the custom-house officers for a present, 
which would spare them the pain of examining 
our baggage : a franc was gratefully accepted, 
with a return of good wishes for our journey. 
We rested at the inn whilst our passports were 
being arranged, and met an Englishman there 
who had left Switzerland without having provided 
himself with proper passports to enter the Austrian 
states of Italy. He had been two days waiting the 
return of a messenger from Berne ; in the mean 
time, he practised himself in curses upon the Aus- 
trian government : a large share, however, of his 
embarrassment arose from his own folly, in not 
having been fully prepared for his journey. As 
soon as our passports were finished, we proceeded, 
through Gallarate, where a large fair was being 
held, to Castellanza, where we slept. 

29th. — Started at five, and, after a ride of 
eighteen miles, we arrived in Milan at nine o'clock. 
Before we entered the city, we examined the state 



STRADA SEMPTONE. 



77 



of the triumphal arch at the termination of the 
great route of the Simplon, the completion of 
which it was intended to commemorate. There 
is no probability at present of its ever being com- 
pleted. We were told that orders are expected 
for demolishing what is done. A large proportion 
of the work was ready before Napoleon's reverses ; 
and statues, basso-relievos, capitals, &c, remain in 
the magazines which surround the arch. The 
architectural sculpture already prepared is of beau- 
tiful workmanship, particularly the Corinthian 
capitals. It is much to be regretted that such a 
work was not completed before the great changes 
took place consequent upon the battle of Waterloo, 
because it was an intended memorial, not of the 
" murders which made a hero," but of a vast un- 
dertaking successfully accomplished, by which 
society has been, and will long be, benefited. 
The Strada Sempione, however, is its own me- 
morial ; and it cannot be passed without reflections 
upon Napoleon, in which his injuries are forgotten 
while contemplating his services to mankind. In 
Milan, we took up our quarters at the Croce di 
Malte. 

We w r ent in the evening to the Scala, where 
we saw Rosini's opera of " Torvaldo e Dorliska," 
and the ballet of " Sesostris," — which, in splendour 
and costume, was the most magnificent spectacle 
that I ever saw. Mr. , an Englishman, had the 



78 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



management of the Scala ; my friend's acquaint- 
ance with him led to his shewing us much civility, 
and to our receiving some curious information 
upon the subject of his appointment. He had, 
before our visit to the theatre, walked with us in 
the Corso, and made us observe many remark- 
able characters in this crowded but delightful pro- 
menade. A house was pointed out to us from the 
Corso, — it was the state prison : some boys in it 
were reading at a window. Above thirty of the 
principal families are confined there for holding 
anti-Austrian political opinions — a punishment 
not limited to the heads of those families, for their 
wives, too, are imprisoned for having talked poli- 
tics ; and that their sons may learn passive obe- 
dience and non-resistance, they have been drawn 
from the colleges of Padua and elsewhere, to 
finish their studies in a prison ! 

They boast of their criminal law here, and con- 
trast it with the English, which, they say, con- 
demns to death upon circumstantial evidence only. 
The following horrible affair, which has just oc- 
curred, will shew what its claim is to superiority. 
A young widow, with some property, admitted the 
addresses of a fellow named Carlo Deza ; its 
Milanese consequence, an unreserved intimacy, 
followed. After a short time, the villain agreed, 
with two others, to murder her, and possess them- 
selves of her property. Her fondness facilitated 



MILANESE JUSTICE. 



79 



their plan. It was agreed that Deza, at a moment 
the least of all in which to expect treachery, should 
give a signal to the other two, — they rushed into 
her chamber, and her head was held whilst one of 
them cut it off. The murder and robbery were 
soon discovered : one of the villains confessed, and 
was executed, — his evidence was not received 
against the other two, who denied all participation 
in the murder. The bloody handkerchief of one, 
with which her mouth was stopped, was found in 
her chamber — this was offered in evidence. The 
wretch owned that he had lost such a handkerchief. 
The poor victim, in her agony, had grasped her 
villanous seducer and murderer so firmly, that 
she detached a button from his dress, and it was 
found in her clenched fist : even this was not 
admitted as evidence affecting the lives of the 
prisoners in this court, where a witness to the 
actual murder, or the confession of the criminal, 
are essential to condemnation. After having been 
acquitted here, they were tried again in a lower 
court, which takes cognisance of circumstantial 
evidence, where they were found guilty, and con- 
demned to twenty years of imprisonment and hard 
labour. 

Went to the Grazie to see the Last Supper, by 
Leonardo da Vinci. It is only three years since I 
saw it, and its rapid progress towards decay is ob- 
vious, even in this short interval. In 1821 I drew 



80 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



four of the heads, and they were not then so much 
decayed but that the character and expression 
might yet be studied ; now, the beautiful head of St. 
John is so obliterated, that the situation of the fea- 
tures can scarcely be distinguished. The St. Peter 
has greatly suffered ; and the fine head of Christ is 
the only one in this picture in which the triumph 
of art, and the prodigious powers of the painter, 
are still evident. In this work, which has given 
an immortal reputation to Leonardo, it is to be 
regretted that even now, lost as it almost is, some 
copy is not made of it, which might at least pre- 
serve what does remain. Morghen's print has not 
a head in it like the original ; nor is there a copy 
in existence which preserves more of this sublime 
work than its composition : the best that I have 
seen is in the Royal Academy, at Somerset House ; 
but not a head in that bears a true resemblance to 
what even still remains of character and expres- 
sion in this grand work ; for the head of Christ 
is a modification of the head of Jupiter, and all 
the others are severe, almost to caricature, — this 
is not the case in Leonardo's work. The head 
of Christ infinitely surpasses every other attempt 
that I have seen to portray his character. The 
late venerable president of the Royal Academy, Mr. 
West, once remarked to me, that the expression of 
Christ should be " meekness without meanness, 
and dignity without ostentation;" — the head of 



DA VINCl's LAST SUPPER. 



81 



the Saviour in Leonardo's Last Supper has not 
only realised this, but gone far beyond what any 
imagination can conceive, unassisted by a sight 
of this production of da Vinci's ; for to these he 
has added the expresssion which had arisen out 
of the circumstances of Christ's situation — his 
known impending fate ; his affection towards 
John, and those he was about to leave to persecu- 
tion ; his regret that one should be found to 
betray him : if all this does not actually exist 
in the picture, it gives rise to all these associa- 
tions. The hundred-times-repeated falsehood about 
the state of this head, which Leonardo is said to 
have left unfinished in despair, is obvious even to 
a common observer ; and the cant of criticism 
which undertook to explain it, is instantly contra- 
dicted by the sight of this wonderful work. The 
head of Christ is the most studied, finished, and 
effective, in the picture. 

When I was here in 1821, a wretched quack 
in art had undertaken to restore this celebrated 
work. After having daubed over the left hand 
of Christ (his own ought to have shrunk up in the 
attempt), and repainted part of the table and 
things upon it, he had so evidently betrayed his 
presumption and his ignorance, that public spirit 
enough was found, even in Milan, to appeal to 
the authorities, and stop his sacrilegious proceed- 
ings, which would have gone far with the next 

e 2 



82 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



generation in blasting the reputation of Leonardo 
da Vinci, by substituting the vile daubing of this 
German pretender (for he was a German) in the 
place of a work that ought to be sacred to all but 
Time, the mastery of whose withering hand alone 
is rapidly destroying all that he here can of the 
fame of Leonardo da Vinci. 

Went again in the evening to the Scala : a 
repetition of the same ballet, " Sesostris," which 
lost little by losing novelty. 

3lst. — Endeavoured to get access to the gallery 
of the Brera ; but it was uncourteously closed upon 
strangers. We, however, entered the Academy, 
where they were arranging the modern works of 
art for exhibition. Amongst them, the finest — and 
it is a work of extraordinary merit — is a picure by 
the professor F. Hayez, a young man of thirty. 
The subject is Count Garbaniola, a Venetian noble, 
led out to execution, and parting with his wife and 
daughters in the court of the prison. The excel- 
lence of this picture left all others in the exhibition 
at an immeasurable distance. The portraits from 
the easels of the first Milanese painters would 
not have been received for exhibition in England ; 
and the landscapes sink below any comparison in 
art. But the most offensive thing which we saw 
was a copy of the Last Supper of Da Vinci, — so 
villanously performed, that a sign-painter, to pre- 
serve his character and credit, must have disowned 



ROUTE TO TURIN. 



83 



it. It hangs in the Academy here, a reproach to 
those who permit it, as long as an atom of the ori- 
ginal remains upon the walls of the refectory of 
the Grazie. Not even a distant resemblance is pre- 
served to any of the heads ; and in brightness of 
colour and smoothness of execution, it challenges 
rivalry with a Birmingham tea-tray. 

The population of Milan appears to be made 
up of beauty and deformity. More fine women 
are seen here than any where else, except London ; 
and more cases of decrepitude and deformity meet 
the eye than in any other place that I ever visited. 
Perhaps the contrast makes each more striking. 

September 1st. — We succeeded yesterday in 
getting our passports arranged, and at ten o'clock 
we set out for Turin ; but our late departure, and 
the delays on the Austrian frontiers at Buftalora, 
prevented our going beyond Novara. On the fron- 
tiers of Sardinia we were surprised at meeting two 
gentlemen, who appeared to officiate there. After 
examining our passports, and perceiving that we 
were artists, they prevented the search of our bag- 
gage, and prohibited a fee to the disappointed pro- 
poses who surrounded us. These gentlemen were 
obliging and communicative. They gave us some 
useful information, and left us impressed with the 
conviction that all douaniers are not scamps ; 
though we were before this too readily disposed to 
believe so, after our treatment at Val Tournanche, 



84 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



2d. — We proceeded to Vercelli : the road is 
flat, and to a painter " unprofitable the views 
were limited to the hedges right and left, and to 
a straight line before us. We passed through 
rice plantations of great extent; and when the 
rain set in, which accompanied us to Assione, it 
was scarcely unwelcome. It compelled us, how- 
ever, at last to stop there, instead of sleeping at 
Chivasse, as we had intended. A good fire, a 
dinner, in which quails were a principal dish, and 
excellent clean beds, reconciled us to an other- 
wise poor inn, in an obscure village. 

3d. — We started at five. The rain had ceased 
w hen we set out ; but as if it had been waiting for 
us, and reserving its resources for our welcome on 
the road, in about an hour it poured down in 
torrents, from which we were glad to shelter our- 
selves, and get breakfast by the road-side, at an 
inn with the favourite sign in Piemont of the Three 
Kings. We soon grew impatient of the restraints 
of the weather, and bidding it defiance, set out 
to perform the ten miles which remained of our 
journey to Turin. Just as we arrived at the capital 
the rain ceased ; and in the hope that this storm in 
the plains was a promise of fine weather in the 
mountains, we really congratulated ourselves upon- 
its attacking us where it spoilt no prospect. 

4th. — We have found little in Turin to interest 
us. This arises, perhaps, from our impatience to 



VIEW FROM THE SUPERGA. 



85 



get again into the mountains, which are now seen 
surrounding Turin in its beautiful locality, and in- 
vite us to enjoy the life and spirits which their 
atmosphere never fails to inspire. Whilst we were 
detained for the necessary examination of our pass- 
ports, we visited the church of the Superga, which 
we reached after a rather fatiguing walk of two 
hours and a half. From its portico the scene is 
magnificent. Turin lay at our feet, in the midst 
of a fertile plain, watered by the winding Po and 
some of its tributary streams, and guarded by the 
Alps, which appear almost to surround it. This 
vast amphitheatre extends from the Monte Viso 
on the left, which in its pyramidal grandeur seems 
to command the lesser Alps over which nature 
has placed it, through- the chain to the right of 
the Cottian, Graian, and Pennine Alps, to the 
beautiful form and stupendous proportions of the 
Monte Rosa — their queen, whose power, in this 
scene at least, is undivided ; for Mont Blanc 
cannot be seen from the Superga. Beyond Monte 
Rosa, to the right, the line of the Alps vanishes 
into air, " thin air as on the left, beyond Monte 
Viso, the plains of the Po and the Stura melt 
into the mist and obscurity of the distant Mari- 
time Alps. From the cupola of the Superga, in 
favourable weather, it is said that Milan can be 
seen ; but we could not distinguish it to-day. 
From what was so glorious in nature, we de- 



86 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



scended to the sepulchres of the kings of Sardinia, 
whose resting-place is beneath the church of the 
Superga. We were surprised to see that the last 
king, so lately dead, had found his way into the 
best berth in these vaults — into a smart tomb 
decorated with Cupids and other appropriate em- 
blems. The appearance of the tomb was much 
older than the date of the entombment, February 
1824 ; whether he had turned out a former in- 
habitant, and ordered a new epitaph adapted to 
his own virtues to replace that of his ancestor, we 
could not discover, and the inquiry was rather an 
awkward one to make of the custode. 

Whence the name of Superga, given to this 
church, it is difficult to guess ; its interior is daubed 
into the appearance of richness, by the painting 
of wood and plaster to resemble marble. The 
tombs also of the kings have their share of such 
pretence. Several crowned death's-heads are 
placed in the vaults, and decorate the tombs. 
Has vanity or humility done this ? 

" The devil smiled, for his darling sin 
Is the pride that apes humility. 7 ' 

The church was built in consequence of a vow 
made by Victor Amadeus to the Virgin, to erect 
such a structure, if she would assist him in re- 
lieving the city of Turin, when it was besieged by 
the French in 1706. Turin was delivered; but 



THE SUPERGA. 



87 



Victor Amadeus did not begin to redeem his pro- 
mise till nine years after; and as it was not a 
written one, ungratefully gave her painted wood 
and plaster for marble. From the surrounding 
country, however, the church is an imposing 
object. We were annoyed on our return to find 
that we could not start to-day, because three or 
four signatures were necessary to our passports 
before we could cross the frontiers. As there is a 
franc or two levied upon the traveller for each of 
these signatures, the necessity for our detention is 
obvious ; but it unfortunately keeps us against 
our wills, and increases our dislike of Turin, 



88 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



1 



CHAPTER VI. 

Leave Turin — Pignerol — Induction of an Archbishop — Valley 
of the Clusone — Fort of Fenestrelles — Col de Sestrieres — 
Cesanne — Mont Genevre — Douaniers — Briancon. 

Sept. 5tk. — Left Turin, and the first blackguard 
douanier of whom we inquired our way misdi- 
rected us, and sent us above a mile out of it. The 
idleness and sullen incivility of the people whom 
we met on the road was remarkable. We con- 
stantly passed carts and other vehicles, but, from 
the diligence to the drag, every conductor slept in 
it, and we had generally to roar to them to give 
us room enough to pass ; their tempers were al- 
ways disturbed with their sleep, and we received 
curses from them which might have added to 
Dr. Slop's. After resting to refresh at None, we 
proceeded over a flat road to Pignerol, where 
every inhabitant was out to receive, at his induc- 
tion, a new archbishop (the Comte de Reis). Just 
as we arrived, and were snug in the chamber of 
our inn, the rain burst upon the town with vio- 
lence, and all the preparations were soaked. A 
painted paper triumphal arch dropped bit by bit ; 
the fraternities of rags and wretchedness, hid in 



INDUCTION OF AN ARCHBISHOP. 89 



part by dirty white and yellow robes, appeared 
wetter than chickens in the wettest day, and pre- 
sented a scene of which it was very difficult to say 
whether it should excite commiseration or laughter. 
The large square had been levelled and strewed 
with sand and soft soil, which the rain soon con- 
verted into delicious mud, ankle deep. None, 
apparently, except the halt, the lame, and the 
deformed, could be found to join in the necessary 
vestments of ceremony, perhaps of penance ; but 
of those the city of Pignerol turned out a large pro- 
portion. The archbishop arrived about five o'clock, 
and much of the ceremony was evidently abridged. 
He was preceded by two dripping trumpeters, and 
followed by about twenty people on horseback, 
forming a motley cavalry ; among them was a 
decent looking puppy or two, who saw nothing 
sacred in the ceremony, but each, evidently con- 
sidering himself by far the most interesting per- 
sonage in the exhibition, smoked his cigar, and 
curvetted before some pretty girls in the windows 
of the Grande Place. 

At length the rain abated, the processional 
forces, which had been dispersed by its violence, 
reassembled, and, in something like order, they 
proceeded to the church. The wretched objects 
mentioned, headed by the verger, dressed in a new 
suit of tawdry, and with a long sword which 
puzzled his legs exceedingly, took the lead ; these 



90 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



were followed by half a dozen filthy looking 
monks, then the priests of the city and those at- 
tached to the cathedral ; then the archbishop him- 
self, wearing his mitre, beneath a white canopy 
borne by four persons, and riding upon a white 
horse, caparisoned with white cloth and silver 
bullion. This was not in imitation of his Master's 
humility in entering Jerusalem. The great man's 
household followed, and the procession was brought 
up by a large mob of citizens and the neighbour- 
ing peasantry. On entering at the church door 
the archbishop sprinkled those nearest to him 
with holy water — they had just received some 
purer from heaven. At the porch he went through 
some ceremonies too long for us to witness, stew- 
ing, as we were, in a dirty crowd, from which we 
found it difficult to extricate ourselves. We, how- 
ever, escaped, and got to the inn, tired, and, I 
fear, not much edified by the mummery. 

6th. — On paying our bill, I hinted to the 
waiter that I had seen the dinner bills of the 
numerous visitors of yesterday, and they were 
charged only 35 sous for what we had been 
charged 80 ; the difference could only be to impose 
upon us as strangers. He had frankness enough 
to confess that it was customary thus to charge 
the English, and we could not obtain any redress 
against this customary instance of Piemontese 
dishonesty. 



VALLEY OF THE CLUSONE. 



91 



On leaving Pignerol to enter the valley of 
the Clusone, the beautiful view of the chain of 
the Alps, as it is presented on the plains, is 
soon shut out by the lower ranges of mountains 
that bound the Val Pragelas, through which the 
river Clusone flows. Napoleon intended that the 
road up this valley should communicate by the 
Col de Sestrieres with the route of the Monte 
Genevre, the route d'Espagne en Italie, and thus 
avoid the long detour by Susa and Turin. But 
this is contrary to the policy of the Sardinian 
government, which has allowed the route by the 
Col de Sestrieres to fall into decay ; and thus tra- 
vellers, who would pass by the Mont Genevre to 
Parma or Genoa, are obliged to go through Turin. 
About three miles from Pignerol we passed the 
quarries of gneiss, which are worked for building 
a new bridge over the Po, at Turin. Our ascent 
was gradual in some places : the river Clusone 
forces its way through ravines in which the road 
had with difficulty been made on one of its banks. 
This was formerly known as one of the valleys 
of the Vaudois, the Protestants of Piemont ; it 
is now their boundary. They have no churches 
on the left bank of the river, though those of 
St. Germains and Pomaret, at the entrance to 
the valley of the Germanasca, or, as it is also 
called, of St. Martin's, are seen on its right bank, 
nearly opposite to Perouse, the principal town in 



92 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the valley of the Clusone. Near Perouse the strong 
fortification of the Fenestrelles is first seen, with 
its white bastions, lines, and parapets, stretching 
down the brow of the hill, which appears to close 
the valley at Fenestrelles. In fact, a narrow road, 
cut out of the rock, is the only means of passing 
this defile to reach the village beneath the fort. 

On our way we had observed a countryman 
catch a very fine trout in the Clusone, which we 
bought, and it made part of our repast whilst 
we rested. The fort of Fenestrelles is now chiefly 
employed as a prison for political offenders ; several 
of the carbonari of Piemont are confined here : 
it is also the prison of that villain Mingrat, the 
cure of St. Quentin's (Isere), who, after murdering, 
with circumstances of horrible aggravation, a 
woman, one of his parishioners, fled from justice, 
and escaping across the frontiers, felt himself safe 
in Piemont, where the clergy never suffer publicly 
for their crimes : he is now kept in the fort of 
Fenestrelles, rather for protection than punish- 
ment. Our guide, upon hearing me relate the 
affair of St. Quentin's, confirmed the report of the 
practice of this infamous injustice. He said, that 
recently, near Caluso, a traveller was left for dead 
by a brigand who had stopped and robbed him ; 
the poor victim was, however, taken up and cured 
of his wounds. On entering the church to make 
acknowledgment for the mercy of his life spared, 



FORT OF FENESTRELLES. 



93 



he saw, in the priest officiating at mass, his mur- 
derer. He immediately went out and gave informa- 
tion to the proper authorities, who cautioned him 
of the danger of charging a priest with the crime ; 
he was positive, and stated that he had some 
money about him when he was robbed curiously 
marked, which he described. After the service, 
the priest was arrested — beneath his canonicals 
was the very dress in which he had made the 
attack, and the marked money, which he had 
been afraid to pass, was found upon him. The 
priest was ordered into confinement, but neither 
publicly tried nor punished. 

From the French side, the appearance of the 
fort is very impressive ; it perfectly commands the 
pass of the valley of the Clusone. It is considered 
one of the strongest frontier defences of Piemont. 
Above Fenestrelles the road rises rapidly, and 
winds along the brink of a precipice for nearly 
two miles : the route, which had been excellent 
under Napoleon, is suffered by the present govern- 
ment to go to ruin ; and the large stones which 
fall from above are never removed, unless a pea- 
sant roll them out of the way, as obstacles to the 
passage of the rude carts which are now used here. 
Jean Guarda had been a little too free in refreshing 
at the village ; he had lost prudence as he gained 
boldness, and our necks, and his volantin, had 
nearly fallen sacrifices to the exchange. He flou- 



94 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



rished over the stones, and whirled us round the 
angles of the road, with an awful defiance of 
danger. His excuse was the long journey which 
he had to perform to-day. At Traverse, where 
we hired an additional horse for crossing the Col 
de Sestrieres, we rested for a short time ; there 
the punishment of Jean's intemperance overtook 
him — that which had made him careless of danger 
had made him careless of his cloak, with which 
some Filch of the valley marched off. The day 
sunk before we began the ascent of the Col de 
Sestrieres ; but a bright and beautiful full moon 
arose and lit our passage. The depth given by 
haze and darkness to the valleys beneath us, and 
the broad and grand forms of the mountains 
which surrounded us, presented a scene new anc 
striking. The difficulty of measuring the magni- 
tude or distance of objects by the eye was increased, 
while the absolute silence, unbroken but by our- 
selves, wrapt the feelings in contemplation. The 
plain of the col is about two miles long, anc 
rich in pasturage ; we saw in the moonlight severa 
chalets. After descending some time, we arrivec 
at what we thought was Cesanne ; for we mel 
there a man whom we had sent forward to bring 
back the horse which we had hired at Traverse ; 
he had taken a shorter path and arrived before us. 
We entered the house, took possession of the only 
chamber, and had tossed up for choice of the bee 



CESANNE. 



05 



or the table as a resting-place for the night, and 
begun to inquire about supper, when we found 
that we were not at Cesanne, but at the hamlet 
of the Col de Champlas : we were doubly disap- 
pointed, as the scenery by moonlight led us to ex- 
pect some fine views on our descent in the morning. 
It was necessary, however, that we should pro- 
ceed, and we continued to wind down the moun- 
tain by the finely constructed road made by order 
of Buonaparte ; and crossing the torrent of the 
Doira Susana, which runs through the valley of 
Oulx to Susa, entered Cesanne at 11 o'clock. At 
the first inn no accommodation was to be had — 
at another, to which we were civilly directed by a 
prepose, we knocked up the host and hostess, and 
they, with great good temper, cooked some eggs, 
&c. for us. The only room to be had contained 
two beds — one was already occupied by a snorer ; 
but, wrapt in our cloaks, we threw ourselves upon 
the other, and soon forgot our fatigue. 

1th. — We were awakened before daylight by a 
fellow entering our room, and violently disputing 
with our sleeping partner; we grumbled at the 
disturbance, but it ended only in the rising and 
going out of the man who had occupied the other 
bed. We breakfasted on delicious milk, and were 
delighted with the kind attentions of our hostess, 
who was pleased and surprised that we could be 
content with any thing she could procure for us, — 



96 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



her poor country, she said, afforded so little. Her 
mother, an old woman of eighty, who, as she her- 
self said, still worked in the fields, offered us her 
snuff, and when she found a pinch exchanged for 
a little piece of money left in the box, she shewed 
us her beads, and promised us her prayers for our 
journey, and a happy return to our families. We 
here learnt some of the blessed effects which the 
change of government, after the fall of Napoleon, 
had brought with it. The owners of this house, 
misnamed an inn, now pay an annual tax of 200 
francs for their house, and another of 100 for 
their goods ; under the government of Buonaparte, 
50 francs was the amount for both. They cannot 
now pass the frontiers to the first town in. France, 
Briangon, without leaving a deposit for the mules 
upon which they travel — to be forfeited in the 
event of their not being returned. For the boll, 
or written permission to pass, a tax of 15 sous is 
paid for each beast. This tax placed us in some 
difficulty about Guarda's horse, but it was removed 
by the kindness and confidence of Laurent Rigat, 
our host. A deposit of two Napoleons was re- 
quired from Guarda, unless he could get a person 
to be answerable for the amount, in the event of 
his not returning the boll to this place, counter- 
signed at that frontier by which Guarda and his 
horse should return into the states of Sardinia, 
and we were obliged here to name the place. 



MONT GENEVRE. 



97 



Upon our saying that we intended to go from 
Grenoble to Montmelian, they inserted the name 
of Chapareillan, as the frontier station where we 
should leave France. Rigat, who had become Jean 
Guarda's guarantee at Cesanne, having accompa- 
nied us to the French custom-house on the Mont 
Genevre, offered the security that was required 
here also — -thus making himself answerable to 
the amount of 80 francs for a total stranger ; and 
the penalty will certainly be enforced if our guide 
neglects to return the bolls within the time spe- 
cified upon them. 

The ascent of the Mont Genevre, from Cesanne, 
is by a very fine road, constructed by order of 
Napoleon. After ascending about three miles, we 
reached the plain of the Mont Genevre. 

At the village on the summit of the pass, we 
were subjected to the search of the custom-house 
officers. We were asked if we had any thing to 
declare ; our answer, 6 No, ' appeared to satisfy 
them ; but, after being detained nearly two hours, 
whilst they examined our passports, and the mea- 
surement and description of the horse were being 
taken, we thought that we were about to depart 
in peace, when a young official, whom we had 
neglected to fee, with a pen in his teeth, swag- 
gered out and ordered every thing to be unpacked 
and examined, even to the untwisting of small 
parcels of paper. We complained of this, and 



98 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



said, that if it had been necessary, it might have 
been done whilst the arrangements were making 
for the horse : but the puppy was in the power of 
place, and we were obliged to submit, though it 
was with an ill grace, to what we could not 
prevent. 

The pass of the Mont Genevre is one of the 
lowest across the great chain, its height not ex- 
ceeding 6000 English feet : barley grows on the 
summit, — there are fine pasturages on the slopes 
of the surrounding mountains ; and though the 
winter is long and severe at the village of Bourg 
Mont Genevre, it is constantly inhabited. In the 
year 1807, an obelisk, sixty-five feet high, was 
erected on the plain near the village, to com- 
memorate the completion of this road over the 
Alps, bat the tablets, with the inscriptions which 
were upon them, have been removed ! On this 
plain, and almost from a common source, two 
rivers, the Doira-Susana and the Durance, take 
their rise, whence the former flows into the Po, 
and the latter into the Rhone. 

The road which descends to Briangon from the 
Genevre is admirably constructed, and winds down 
the mountain by a succession of zig-zags, which 
render the descent gentle and commodious. The 
views of Briangon and its forts are very striking : 
the valley, or rather confluence of valleys, in which 
it is situated, presents a scene of mountain forms 



BRIANgON. 



99 



more beautiful and picturesque than any that we 
have passed ; and the magnificent larches and pines 
in the forest through which we descended, formed 
to the scenes foregrounds which were perfectly in 
character. The seven forts of Briangon are placed 
on the hills which command the approach on the 
sides both of Dauphiny and Piemont. The valley 
of the Durance at and above Briangon narrows 
into a deep ravine, across which a bridge, an arch 
of 120 feet span, is thrown with great boldness 
from precipice to precipice ; beneath it, at a fright- 
ful depth, the Durance forces its way. This bridge 
is the means of communication between the town 
and the forts, which rise above each other to 
the Fort de Vlnfernet, situated 1000 feet higher 
than the col of the Mont Genevre, and which 
requires a walk of three hours from the bridge 
to attain it. Few places are so strong by nature 
and by art as Briancon ; and the fortifications, in 
spite of their geometrical forms, aid the pictu- 
resque effect of this extraordinary place. 

At the foot of the Mont Genevre is a fountain, 
where an inscription formerly bore the name of Na- 
poleon, and commemorated the construction of the 
new route: this has been removed, lest some thirsty 
traveller should bless his memory. Is it possible 
that the wicked and the weak who ordered the 
destruction of such memorials as this on the foun- 
tain, and the inscriptions on -the obelisk, can have 



100 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



fancied that with their removal the fame of Napo- 
leon would be forgotten ? Or would they have 
his violent deeds alone remembered, and destroy 
all records of the benefits which he conferred upon 
society? Those were transient, but these are im- 
perishable ; and the infatuation which conceives 
that, by closing its own eyes to the great deeds 
of this great man, it can leave them in darkness 
to the rest of the world, is like that of the ostrich, 
which thrusts its head into the sand, and exposes 
its weakness and indecency. 



101 



CHAPTER VII. 

Gendarme — View of Briancon — Valley of the Guisanne — 
La Lozet — Col de Lautaret — Mont Lens — La Grave — 
Storm — Val Romanche — Route d'Espagne en Italie — Gal- 
leries in the Combe of Mai val — Bourg d'Oysans — Combe 
of Gavet — Vizi lie — Buonaparte and the Bourbons — Gre- 
noble — Statue of the Chevalier Bayard . 

Sept. 8th. — We have learnt at Briangon that 
the route to Grenoble by the Col de Lautaret is 
impassable in a volantin ; my friend has therefore 
decided upon proceeding to Grenoble by Embrun 
and Gap with Jean Guarda, whilst I have engaged 
a man and horse, to reach that city by the valleys 
of the Guisanne and the Romanche. There was 
some delay with my passport, in consequence of 
the mayor's not being able for some time to find 
in it the signature of the minister of the interior ; 
when he discovered it, he offered many apologies 
for the detention. I had scarcely, however, left 
the city-gate with my guide, when we met a gen- 
darme who demanded my passport, which he 
examined and returned ; but this was a flourish 
of petty authority, that might have been a duty 
en route, but was uncalled for here, because he 
knew my guide, and knew that I could not have 



102 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



left the town without my passport having been 
registered, and we were not a hundred yards from 
the gate. It is wise, however, for a stranger to 
bow with temper to these regulations in a foreign 
country ; but no one feels the annoyance so much 
as an Englishman, and any unnecessary exercise 
of this power is sure to ruffle him. 

From the entrance of the Val de Guisanue, 
Briangon, with its forts rising from its walls to 
the summit of the Mont de Hnfernet, a peak 
nearly 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, and 
the open valley of the Durance below the town, 
form a scene of great beauty. The road to the Col 
de Lautaret ascends by the valley of the Guisanne, 
and passes through many villages ; one of these, 
Chante-Meiie, derives its name from the great 
number of blackbirds in its immediate neighbour- 
hood. On looking back from any part of the 
valley below Monestier, Briancon appears to close 
the vista ; but from Monestier, the mountains, 
which seemed to have risen above each other 
behind Briancon as we ascended the vallev, were 
now surmounted by the peak of the Viso. This 
route from Briangon to Grenoble was known to 
the Romans, and Monestier was by them called 
Stabadio. There are mineral baths here, but they 
are not much frequented. From Briancon to Mo- 
nestier the road is good for chars ; but beyond this 
place it is impracticable, except by mules. 



LA LOZET. 



103 



Near the village of Le Casset we passed the 
fine glacier of Laciale, which descends from the 
Mont d'Arcines. Above this village the valley 
becomes barren and savage ; the stunted larches 
almost cease, and snows and glaciers are rapidly 
approached. The few spots in which soil is found 
are sown with barley, and a scanty produce is the 
uncertain reward of the cultivator. Where there 
had been irrigation, a rank grass had sprung up, 
which was cut and dried as winter food for the 
cattle ; this they were gathering with great care 
and wrapping it in a cloth to carry it to the 
grange ; for the lives of their cattle depend upon 
this store, as the snow lies on the ground here 
eight months in the year. The upper part of the 
valley is very narrow, and bounded by mountains, 
which are scathed and pinnacled upon their ridges : 
the debris which falls from them almost fills the 
little space in the valley; yet even here villages 
are found. 

At La Lozet, where we rested to refresh the 
horse, I entered the inn, and found there two or 
three douaniers. This village- is situated at the 
foot of one of the dangerous passes which commu- 
nicate with Piemont by this valley. The profit 
upon coffee, tobacco, velvet, &c, when the duty 
can be evaded, tempts the smuggler to enter 
France by paths where his neck is in constant 
danger. Still higher up the valley, at La Made- 



104 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



laine, there is another station of douaniers. Whilst 
the horse baited at La Lozet, I ordered refresh- 
ment ; and had placed before me a bottle of ex- 
cellent wine, bread, butter, eggs, and cheese, roast 
and boiled mutton ; for all this mine host's fair 
and dirty daughter, after three efforts to make the 
most of the account, was restrained by her con- 
science from charging; me m0 re than 13 sous 
(7±d. !) ; and I was overwhelmed with her grati- 
tude when I gave her a franc and refused change. 

We continued to ascend the valley over stones 
and the beds of torrents for above an hour, when 
the ascent to the Mont de Lautaret became very 
rapid. On the left, the Guisanne, having just 
issued from a large glacier, tumbles down the 
mountain-side, forming fine cataracts in pursuing 
its course to the Durance. On the Col de Lau- 
taret, the scene was strikingly contrasted with that 
which we had just passed ; the rocky surface was 
concealed by a rich mountain pasturage, where 
numerous cows, goats, and sheep, were fed during 
the short summer enjoyed there. The col was 
rather a basin than a plain ; and it was not only 
covered with rich short grass, but a conical moun- 
tain which arose on the side towards Piemont was 
verdant even to its summit. This mountain is 
well known to French botanists : in the months of 
June and July it is covered with alpine plants and 
flowers of great beauty and rarity, and it then ap- 



COL DE LAUTARET. 105 

pears like a land of Goshen amidst all that storms 
and avalanches have rendered sterile and savage. 
On this col is an old hospice, founded by Humbert 
the Second, one of the maisons hospitalieres which 
he established in Dauphiny on the mountain-passes : 
it is under repair at present. As we descended 
from the col, we saw the enormous glacier of 
Tabuchet, where the Romanche has its source ; 
it presented itself on our left. In about an hour 
we proceeded along the banks of the river ; the 
day closed in soon after we had entered the valley 
of the Romanche, but the moon shone brightly. 
We soon reached the village of Villar d'Arene, 
and thence, by a steep descent, to a fine Ml of the 
Romanche, where, aided by the effect of moonlight, 
the defile into which the torrent rushed seemed 
deeper and darker than it really was ; for the 
moon shining on the upper part of the falling 
waters, and on the mist which arose from the 
cataract, the depths into which it fell was immea- 
surable by the eye at this hour ; but its awful roar 
was heard from beneath. On winding round a 
projection which overhung the fall, and ascending 
the path which skirts a precipice, the snows and 
glaciers of Mont Lens burst upon us, lit up by the 
moon with a peculiar brightness, whilst the base 
of the mountain, sunk into mist and indistinct- 
ness, produced a sublime and impressive effect 
upon the imagination rather than the eye, for it 

f 2 



106 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



was aided by the deep and distant murmurs of the 
Romanche. 

After descending by a steep and narrow path, 
which led down to the river, we saw the moon- 
light shining on the slate roofs of the village of 
La Grave. We were received at an auberge? 
chez Boi, recommended by our host of Briancon 
as the best in the village ; but the filth and stench 
of the first room, in which three or four ill-looking 
fellows appeared to be enjoying themselves, made 
me ask at once for a chamber. " Did I want one 
to myself?" " Certainly." I was then shewn 
through the stable up into a loft, where five or six 
dirty beds were stowed round in cribs ; beyond this 
I was led to a narrow room, which a bed and table 
almost entirely occupied. The old woman who 
attended me told me that Monsieur le Prefet and a 
party had slept there last night : this was probably 
true, for I had met him between La Lozet and 
Madelaine, with a lady and two gentlemen, on 
horseback, attended by a gendarme. I hope they 
enjoyed their accommodation here ; I had little 
prospect of it, moderate as my expectations had 
become ; but supper was the first consideration. 
I had seen enough of her kitchen to ask for boiled 
eggs, as the safest speculation. When I inquired for 
her best wine, she shook her head, and said it was 
very dear — thirty sous a bottle, and that its price 
was owing to its being a. wine of Provence, brought 



LA GRAVE* 



107 



all the way from Avignon ; but hunger and thirst 
forbade bounds to my extravagance. The wine 
was brought, and I never tasted any so delicious. 
On the bread and eggs, with this wine, I fared 
sumptuously. Though I was greatly fatigued, the 
filthy appearance of the bed prevented my ap- 
proaching it ; I therefore wrapped myself up in 
my cloak, and lay on the rickety table, my small 
bundle serving for a pillow. Stanfield had taken 
on my portmanteau in the volantin. I congratu- 
lated myself that I had retained my pistols, for 
I did not like the appearance of the men below, 
which by no means recommended them to con- 
fidence ; and some suspicions had arisen in the 
course of the day, that an unarmed traveller might 
have met with foul play ; I therefore fastened my 
door, and kept on my guard. I do not know 
whether it was the expectation of attack, or the 
hard resting-place which I had chosen, but I could 
get no sleep ; the buzz of a wretched fly in the toil 
of a spider, roused me as effectually as the falls of 
the avalanches into the valley from Mont Lens op- 
posite, which often occurred. About two o'clock, 
however, fatigue mastered repugnance ; I ventured 
to lie on the bed, and soon fell asleep. 

9th. — About four o'clock I was aroused by the 
noise of a violent storm, and the dripping of the 
rain upon my bed ; its suddenness surprised me. 
I arose from my wet resting-place, and looking 



108 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



out of the window, saw the storm spending its fury 
around Mont Lens, which was sometimes obscured 
in clouds, at others its glaciers were brightened to 
effulgence by the lightning. Some of the inmates 
had been disturbed, and their yawns and mutter- 
ings, joined to the snoring of those who still slept 
in defiance of the storm, aided the beating of the 
rain against the windows, and the bursting peals 
of thunder, to form a horrid midnight medley. 
I could not sleep ; but devoted the hours which 
passed until daylight in writing to England and 
penning-in some sketches made yesterday. 

Bread, eggs, and wine, again for breakfast. 
The bill, including my extravagance in Provence 
wine, was forty sous ! My poor landlady over- 
powered her capital customer with gratitude for 
his visit, and regret that the storm had broken 
his rest. My doubts of the honesty of the Dauphi- 
nois, like those of my friend at Aosta, did wrong 
to the characters of those with whom I had so- 
journed; and I owe them this acknowledgment. 

At La Grave the winters are so severe, that 
the inhabitants find it sometimes impossible to 
break the ground for burying their dead at that 
season, and they suspend the bodies in the granaries 
until the succeeding spring. 

About noon the weather cleared up, and we left 
La Grave. Our route lay through a deep ravine, 
where the path was difficult and rugged ; and 



VALLEY OF THE ROMANCHE. 



109 



blocks of stone and rocks of enormous magnitude 
were wildly strewn above : the mountains, which 
rose perpendicularly from the slopes formed by 
their debris, were surmounted in some places by 
glaciers which seemed to cut against the sky. The 
waters which melted from these were poured out 
from a thousand feet above the valley upon the 
slopes, and thence streamed down in white line3 of 
foam, which crossed, in their course to the Roman- 
che, the path by which we descended the valley, 
rendering it generally difficult to pass, and, in 
consequence of the late rains, in some places dan- 
gerous. There is one cataract, near the hamlet of 
La Dauphine, which, from its volume and height, 
is remarkably fine ; it bears the name of Le Saut 
de la Pucelle. My guide said that a peasant girl, 
who saw no other means of escape from the violence 
of a huntsman whom she had met in the moun- 
tain, boldly leapt from the summit of the fall, and 
escaped unhurt. If the story be true, St. Gene- 
vieve had some hand in it. The quantity and the 
magnitude of the rocks which have fallen from the 
mountain is immense. I made fifty paces in pass- 
ing one of these ; against several of them stone 
chalets had been raised, which were comparatively 
so diminutive as to be almost unobserved ; in these, 
during the summer, the goatherds live. Nothing 
can be imagined more rugged, savage, and dreary, 
than this ravine — it is better described by this 



110 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



word than by valley. Larger mountains, but at a 
greater distance, produce not half the impression 
upon the feelings that is excited by these lower 
ranges, hanging out as they do from 1000 to 
2000 feet over the valley. Some are seen with 
glaciers on their summits, which intersect the sky : 
an avalanche from these would overwhelm the 
traveller who passed beneath ; and the detritus 
which forms the slopes brought down by such 
causes gives evidence of their frequent occurrence. 
Our route lay above two hours through this scene 
of danger, and ended only at La Dauphine, where 
we took refreshment, still cheap ; for a bottle of 
excellent wine, bread, cheese, and butter, was 
only charged ten sous. 

La Dauphine lies rather high above the tor- 
rent; bat a short descent brought us to the banks 
of the Rornanche, and we once more arrived where 
trees, farms, and cottages, speckled the scene ; and 
we were brought again to society and is associa- 
tions. In half an hour from La Dauphine we 
arrived at the termination, as far as it had been 
made, of the Route d'Espagne en Italie, which 
Napoleon had ordered to be carried through these 
wild and secluded valleys, to form a communica- 
tion between Grenoble and the Mont Genevre, 
across the Col de Lautaret, — thus saving forty 
miles of distance, by avoiding the route through 
Gap and Embrun. This road was began in obe- 



GALLERIES IN THE COMBE OF MALVAL. Ill 

dience to a decree dated February 17th, 1804. 
The last portion finished of this work, was a gal- 
lery cut through the rocks on the bank of the 
Romanche, a little below La Dauphine. The 
situation is exceedingly wild, but the gallery is not 
of great extent. From this place, a road, admir- 
ably made, leads, on the banks of the river, for 
about a mile, through a defile, and amidst scenes 
which reminded me of some parts of the Val 
Dovedro. The road then ascends to the great 
gallery, which is at least as extraordinary a work 
as that of Gondo, in the route of the Simplon. 
Here, however, the excavation is nearly two hun- 
dred feet longer ; but it is chiefly remarkable for 
its great height above the torrent. As it was im- 
possible to continue the road by the river side, it 
has been carried nearly five hundred feet above the 
river, which it perpendicularly overhangs. From 
three lateral openings in the gallery, cut through 
the rock to admit light to the passage, the tra- 
veller can look down, if his head be steady 
enough, upon the jagged rocks and foaming tor- 
rent beneath. 

Between the two galleries, and above the right 
bank of the river, the little church and village of 
Freney are seen amidst woods and fields, which 
strikingly contrast with the desolation of the scenes 
above La Dauphine. From La Grave to Bourg 
d'Oysans, the valley bears the general name of 



112 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the Combe of Malval ; but below Freney, the 
gorge is distinguished by the name of Les Ivfernets. 
This is the part which has been avoided, by carry- 
ing the road up the side of the ravine, and through 
the great gallery ; beyond which, it still rises on 
the mountain side, where precipices, hundreds of 
feet above and below the road, give to the scene an 
extraordinary character of vastness, from their prox- 
imity. The eye cannot survey the entire forms of 
the mountains, and estimate their magnitudes, by 
their distance ; the comparison of the surrounding 
objects can alone be made with man, and the mind 
shrinks in the contemplation. After winding round 
one of the buttresses of Mont Lens, — for our course 
from La Grave had been at the base of this moun- 
tain, — we passed through the village of Mondelent ; 
whence the descent, though sometimes on the brink 
of precipices, is gradual to the bed of the Ro- 
manche, below where it issues from the gorge of 
Malval. The road had been so far finished, that 
carts employed in its formation could pass ; but it 
is now so neglected and decaying, that a light char 
cannot be taken from the combe of Malval to Bourg 
d'Oysans. No cantonniers were appointed to pre- 
serve that portion of the road which had been 
accomplished, and it has gone to ruin. 

Having attained the banks of the Romanche, 
and pursued its course for half a mile, we crossed 
it on a wooden bridge, and proceeded, through a 



BOURG D'OYSANS. 



113 



fertile valley, to Bourg d'Oysans, anciently Ca- 
torissium, leaving on our left the narrow gorges 
of the Vengon, which descends from the savage 
valley of St. Christopher, and falls into the Ro- 
manche near Bourg d'Oysans. Before our arrival 
at this place we recrossed the river, and shortly 
after, the broad fantastic cap of Madame Ratoux, 
with preparations for our supper, were welcome 
sights. How much I enjoyed a clean bed, after my 
adventures at chez Boi, may be easily conceived. 

10th. — We left Bourg d'Oysans at six o'clock. 
The clouds hung about the mountains, and it was 
only in occasional glimpses that I could distinguish 
the rugged and snowy peaks of Mont Lens, at a 
height greatly increased in appearance by the cir- 
cumstances under which I saw them. The road 
to Briangon formerly Jay over a part of Mont 
Lens — a pass of great elevation and extreme dif- 
ficulty. Some works of Roman construction yet 
remain upon it. 

The almost perpendicular ridge of the lower 
range of mountains which surround the valley or 
basin of Bourg d'Oysans, particularly on the 
southern side, present some most extraordinary 
instances of tortuous stratification. In the eleventh 
century, the quantity of debris brought down by 
the torrents, which are most impetuous in the 
vicinity of Bourg d'Oysans, formed a dike at the 
entrance of the combe of Gavet, into which the 



114 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



valley of Bourg d'Oysans leads. The water accu- 
mulated within the dike, and during upwards of 
two centuries formed a lake which covered the 
present land in the valley of Bourg d'Oysans to 
the depth of sixty or eighty feet. Its surface was 
three leagues long, and one league wide ; and in 
some old records it bore the name of the Lac du 
St. Laurent. In September 1229 the dike burst, 
the torrent swept away all the villages in its 
course, and it is reported to have even submerged 
a great part of Grenoble. On turning into the 
combe of Gavet, we soon arrived at the narrow 
pass where this dike had been formed : near it, 
some fine cataracts descend from the mountains. 
At the early hour of our passing, the sun shone 
upon the spray rising from the falling waters, and 
presented brilliant irises, their hues varying in 
intensity with the influence of the currents of air 
upon the mists which they dispersed. 

The combe of Gavet has a picturesque cha- 
racter not unlike the glen scenery of the High- 
lands of Scotland. The beautiful began to prevail 
over the sublime, and cultivation over sterility. 
We passed through the villages of Gavet and Lane, 
corrupted from its Roman name of Chichiliana. 
Here we rested to bait the horse ; and hence, in 
an hour and a half, reached Vizille. This town is 
finely situated in a little plain surrounded by lofty 
mountains, on the high road from Gap to Gre- 



VIZILLE BUONAPARTE AND THE BOURBONS. 115 

noble. It was at Vizille that the parliament of 
Dauphiny made a declaration fatal to the power of 
the Bourbons ; hence it has been called the cradle 
of the revolution. From Vizille, the road to Gre- 
noble rises by a gentle ascent, from which a beau- 
tiful view of Vizille is presented ; it then continues 
on the hills until its descent, which is gradual, 
from Brie. This is a village whence Grenoble is 
first seen in a very striking point of view. From 
this place, avenues of chestnut-trees extend almost 
to the capital of Dauphiny, and the approach to it 
has all the character of the vicinity of a large city. 
We were driven to the Hotel of the Ambassadors. 

The Bourbons are not in high odour in Dau- 
phiny, on the line of road by which I re-entered 
France. Napoleon is spoken of with affection, 
and his successors with contempt. Much of this 
has probably arisen from the cessation of employ- 
ment, by stopping the works of the new road, and 
the destruction of their hopes of advantage and 
benefit from the transit of merchandise and tra- 
vellers. Great advantages would also be derived 
from ready access to the lead and copper mines 
which are worked in the combe of Malval. To 
me, as an Englishman, many whom I met with 
were unrestrained in their praises of the emperor. 
It is probable that the Dauphinois have been made 
to feel that their welcome reception of Buonaparte, 
on his return from Elba, at Gap, Vizille, and Gre- 



116 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



noble, and the assistance which was afforded to 
him on this line of his march, were ill-timed ; cer- 
tain it is, that they express their hatred of his suc- 
cessors with less reserve than I expected. At 
Bourg d'Oysans I saw a portrait of Louis XVIII. 
converted into an old smoker, vis-a-vis with Vol- 
taire, who was made to grin at him ; and in a 
handsome apartment of the principal inn at Gre- 
noble was a print of the Duchesse de Berry en~ 
ciente, asleep, and near her a bust of the duke 
on a pedestal. A vision represented St. Louis 
pointing to a child, borne towards her by two 
angels. A diamond-scratch had been drawn on 
the glass which covered the print across all their 
throats. "The snake is scotched, not killed;" 
the fire is smothered, not extinguished, and will 
long retain its heat and power of rekindling. Let 
the Bourbons be cautious, and not try its strength 
by blowing upon it too fiercely. 5 * 

11 th. — As my friend had not arrived this 
morning, I walked about the city, which, next 
to Paris and Lyons, is the finest that I have seen 
in France. It is beautifully situated on the Isere; 
but I found little in it to interest me. In the 
square of St. Andre, which ought now to be called 
the Place Bayard, is a bronze statue of the che- 

* Five years afterwards the elder branch was driven from 
France : how many have the younger yet to stay? 



STATUE OF THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 117 

valier " sans peur et sans reproche," recently 
erected by a subscription of the people of Dau- 
phiny, aided by gifts from the king and the 
royal family. The attitude chosen by the artist, 
whose name I did not learn, is intended to re- 
present the chevalier wounded and falling against 
a tree, upon which he supports himself with one 
hand, whilst he raises a sword with the other, 
but so awkwardly, that the hilt prevents his face 
from being seen, except in one position, where it 
is so much foreshortened, that the character and 
expression cannot be understood. The chevalier 
was born in this department (l'lsere), at a chateau, 
the ruins of which I am advised to visit, as it lies 
very little out of the road to Montmelian, by 
which we have proposed to reach the Little St. 
Bernard. Beneath the statue four tablets are 
inserted into the pedestal. The first records his 
battles ; the second, the names of the men at arms 
in his company ; the third, the persons who sub- 
scribed to the erection of this statue in the reign 
of Louis le desire ; the fourth is — To Bayard, who 
was born in the year 1476, and died at Rebecq 
in the year 1524, with, I suppose, a recorded 
speech of the chevalier, that God and the king 
were his only masters ! 

Stanfield arrived in the afternoon, delighted 
with his journey by the high road through Em- 
brun and Gap. 



118 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Valley of Gresivaudan — Ponte Charra — Chateau Bayard — 
Frontier — Montmelian — St. Pierre d'Albigny — Chateau 
Moilans, Val Isere — L'Hopital Conflans — Fonderie 
Royale — Moutiers — CI use d'Haute-Cour — Ay me — St. 
Maurice — Valley of the Reclus— Roche Blanche — Passage 
ofHannibal— Hospice — Summit of the Little St. Bernard — 
Colonne de Joux — La Tuile — Scene of Hannibal's difficulty 
in descending from the Alps — Baths of St.Didier — Village 
Funeral — Aosta. 

Sept. 12th. — We left Grenoble about two this 
afternoon, and ascended the left bank of the Isere, 
through the rich and fertile valley of Gresivaudan. 
The chain of mountains which terminate in Mont 
Grenier bound the valley on the right of the river. 
At nine o'clock we arrived at Ponte Charra, on 
the frontiers cf Savoy, where we were welcomed 
by a very pretty landlady at the Auberge de la 
Paon ; and where our excellent little supper, and 
delicious juice of the grape, contradicted the Pie- 
montese proverb, that " an innkeeper who has a 
pretty wife sells bad wine." 

]3tk. — We were too late yesterday to visit 
the Chateau Bayard, on our way to Ponte Charra ; 
we therefore walked back to see it this morning, 
whilst Jean Garda was arranging about the boll 
for his horse. We retraced the road to Grenoble 
about a mile, and then struck into a path on our 
left, and ascended the side of a hill, by which, 



CHATEAU BAYARD. 



119 



in about another mile, we attained the rains of 
the chateau, celebrated as the birth-place of the 
chevalier, and not less deserving of celebrity for 
the beautv of its site. It commanded a most ex- 
tensive view of the vale of Gresivaudan. On the 
opposite side of the valley is seen the Ford Bar- 
raud, which defends that frontier route into Dau- 
phiny ; beyond, the view is bounded by the chain 
of Mont d'Arpente, which terminates in Mont 
Granier; and on the right the plain extends to 
Chambery. The valley upwards, above Mont- 
melian, is closed by Mont la Tuile, and those 
masses more distant which extend up the Val 
Isere. Down the river, the mountains around 
Grenoble limit the view ; but nothing can be ima- 
gined which surpasses the richness every where 
presented by cultivation in this fertile valley; — 
forests, vines, and corn, cover the land. During 
its days of glory the Chateau Bayard must have 
been a delicious residence. In the ruins, how- 
ever, there is no interest but what arises from 
association with the chevalier himself : they are 
all unpicturesque, except those of the gateway or 
entrance to the terrace : the gardens are destroyed 
— the terrace can scarcely be defined ; and during 
the events of the revolution, at the sales of na- 
tional property, the whole would have been demo- 
lished, but, that a man (I wish I could give his 
name !) was found bold and generous enough to 



120 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



buy it, to preserve what even yet remained of the 
birth-place of the hero of Dauphiny. 

On our return we found that some difficulty 
had occurred in consequence of the douanier at 
Mont Genevre having written Chapareillan instead 
of Ponte Charra on the boll delivered on the Mont 
Genevre, the former place being the frontier town 
on the other side of the Isere towards Chambery. 
We succeeded, with a little management, in re- 
moving the difficulty. Soon after leaving Ponte 
Charra we arrived at the station of the preposcs of 
Savoy : here we had again to execrate the delays 
thrown in our way by the examination of pass- 
ports, bolls, and baggage — again the horse was 
measured and examined for his marks. 

On inspecting the seat of the volantin two brace 
of pistols were found. One of the fellows seized 
these, and took them to the commandant to know 
if one pair would not be lawful prize : the com- 
mandant came to us, and learnt, that though we 
were now together, we had occasionally separated ; 
and admitted, that though in Savoy arms were 
not necessary, in our journeys we might sometimes 
require them. I observed a rather sudden growth 
of civility in the party, which I did not at first 
understand. Whilst our things were repacking, 
my friend had amused himself by tossing up in 
his hand, so that they might observe it, a five- 
franc piece ; this caught the eyes of the harpies, 



MONTMELIAN. 



121 



and when we left them, each believed that his 
companion had it ; but, after going about 200 
yards, S., who had kept it in his hand, threw 
it up again in triumph, to their evident disap- 
pointment and mortification. We soon got into 
the great route of the Mont Cenis, upon which 
we entered about a mile above Montmelian. Here 
the view of this town and its old fort, the river, 
and the Val Isere, backed by the mountain of La 
Tuile, offered a strikingly picturesque scene. We 
descended to Montmelian to cross the Isere and 
pursue our course up its right bank to L'Hopital. 
The excessive steepness of the street which led to 
this route rendered it very difficult to get up the 
volantin ; this, however, was accomplished whilst 
we attended at the station of the carabineers to 
get our passports again countersigned. The route 
up the right bank of the Isere is very beautiful — 
the breadth of the river, the richness of its banks, 
and the woods and mountains, in some places 
aided by the rains of castles and neat and delight- 
fully situated villages, present a succession of pic- 
turesque scenes and objects of great interest. 

At the little town of St. Pierre d'Albigny we 
rested and dined : the hostess wanted to bribe our 
guide to support her demand of twelve francs in- 
stead of six. He told her it was hopeless, as I was 
an old traveller. A little beyond St. Pierre we 
passed one of the finest ruined chateaux on the 

G 



122 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



route, that of Moilans. It is placed on the point 
of a rock which juts out from the mountain-side, 
in a commanding situation. Early in the 16th 
century this castle was purchased by a duke of 
Savoy, and made the state prison. The same 
richness in the soil and scenery for which the 
valley of the Isere is so celebrated, prevailed all 
the w r ay to L'Hopital Conflans. 

We were a little surprised, on arriving at 
L'Hopital, to find a town well lit with lamps, 
having good inns, and an appearance of clean- 
liness and comfort, which reminded us of home. 
At the first inn, chez Geny freres, the house 
was too much occupied for our accommodation, 
chiefly by an English nobleman, who had just 
arrived with his family and suite, and having a 
daughter with him who was an invalid ; we there- 
fore withdrew to another inn, kept by a young 
couple who had recently commenced business, 
where every thing was excellent, and served with 
great civility and attention. 

14th. — On leaving L'Hopital we crossed the 
river Arly, near its confluence with the Isere, to 
Conflans, which is situated on the left bank of the 
river, though with L'Hopital it properly forms 
only one town. Near it we visited the royal 
smelting-houses and foundery, where the silver of 
the state is obtained from the ore ; there were no 
workmen at present, and the fires were extinct. 



MOUTIERS-TARENTAISE. 



123 



The king, in his recent progress through his duchy 
of Savoy, visited L'Hopital, when, for his amuse- 
ment, and to raise, if possible, his notions of self- 
importance, his fonderie royale was set to work. 
The people appeared to have been made very 
happy by his visit, and to remember the holyday 
which it afforded with much pleasure. 

The valley of the Isere at Conflans turns off 
abruptly at a right angle, which extends to Mou- 
tiers -Tarentaise. Above this place its course is 
again nearly parallel with the vale of Gresivaudan. 
The same beautiful scenery and high cultivation 
extends to Moutiers, but with some variation where 
the valley becomes narrower ; it is, however, as 
richly wooded, and old feudal remains are still 
seen in commanding situations on the mountain- 
side. Before arriving at the neat little village of 
Aigue-Blanche, there is a fine scene where a 
cataract dashes down amidst immense rocks ; a 
spot which forms a striking contrast with the 
quiet and beautiful scenes through which we had 
just passed. From Aigue-Blanche to Moutiers 
the road has been admirably made on the side of 
a ravine, which, at its termination, discloses the 
capital of the Tarentaise, in the midst of a little 
plain surrounded by mountains. Its salines or 
salt-works are buildings of singular construction 
for the evaporation of the water which is conducted 
through them from the salt - springs : there are 



124 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



four such houses, each above 1000 feet long and 
25 feet high. Nearly three million pounds of salt 
are annually obtained from these works. Bake- 
well, in his " Tour in the Tarentaise," gives an 
excellent account of Moutiers and these salines. 

After taking refreshment, we proceeded on our 
route up the course of the Isere : we soon passed 
the village of St. Marcel, and a little beyond it 
ascended by a road which is carried high above 
the torrent, over the brow of a rock that perpen- 
dicularly overhangs the narrow gorge through 
which the Isere struggles at the depth of several 
hundred feet. Formerly the road, or rather path, 
that led to the valley above this gorge, was 
carried over the rocks on the other side of the 
river. The view from the summit of this pass, 
into the bed of the Isere, and of the village of St. 
Marcel, is very singular. This place is called 
the Cluse d'Haute-Cour ; the parish in which it 
is situated, and of which the little church can 
be just seen on the left, high above the road, is 
that of Mont Jerou. We were told that the land 
above us lay in flat terraces, and was very pro- 
ductive in corn. The road of Haute -Cour was 
made by order of Charles Emanuel III. in 1766. 
Bakewell calls this gorge Le Saut de la Pucelle. 
These young ladies appear to have chosen places 
for their feats as difficult to attain as to escape 
from. 



BOURG ST. MAURICE. 



125 



Beyond this gorge the country began to assume 
an appearance of sterility when compared with 
the valley below it. We left on the right the 
village of Centron, — a name which marks the 
locality of the Centrones, a people who inhabited 
the upper valley, — and proceeded to Ayme, the 
ancient Aimae ; but believed by antiquaries to 
be also the Forum Claudii Centronum. M. J. 
Roche, of Moutiers, has particularly investigated 
this subject in his Notices Historiques sur les 
anciens Centrons. Ayme is a little market-town, 
where we rested our horse long enough to make 
our arrival at Bourg St. Maurice late. We had 
a very narrow escape from a serious accident at 
this place. Just before we entered the town, we 
crossed a wooden bridge above a torrent, which 
our conductor Jean drove over so carelessly, that 
the wheels on my side of the volantin were within 
two inches of the edge of the board. When I 
looked down upon the foaming torrent, I gave an 
alarm ; and before we had passed over, our escape 
was as narrow from such an accident by the 
sudden change to the other side : there was no 
parapet or railing on either to protect us. We 
afterwards learnt that we had gone over a tem- 
porary bridge, and, as it was dark, our escape 
was considered by our host of St. Maurice as 
a miracle. 

\5th. — We returned to the scene of danger 



126 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



which we had escaped last night, and felt grate- 
ful that our journey had not closed here. Guarda's 
horse was beginning to feel the effects of his con- 
stant labour ; we therefore engaged a man, who, 
with the assistance of two others, agreed to convey 
our carriage, without dismounting it, across the 
pass of the Little Saint Bernard, and to furnish 
another horse for the journey. We started in the 
volantin, and after crossing the torrent which 
descends from the Glacier d'Oratoire by Chapiu, 
reached Scez, where we left the valley of the 
Isere, to ascend that of the Reclus. The vil- 
lanous condition of the road induced us to avoid 
the chance offered to us of being converted into 
jelly by the jolts of our carriage. My friend 
mounted Jean Guarda's horse, and I walked on, 
leaving the party that we had hired to follow 
us. After ascending through the village of Vil- 
lars, by a narrow and rugged road, we reached 
the head of the little plain or valley, which termi- 
nates in an immense mass of gypsum, called the 
Roche Blanche, that rises on the left bank of 
the Reclus. At its base, this torrent escapes by a 
deep rift. Below the Roche Blanche, the valley 
of the Reclus spreads out into meadows and pas- 
turages, where a rude chapel bears the name, 
a common one in the Alps, of Notre Dame des 
Neiges. A bridge now crosses the torrent close to 
the Roche Blanche. Formerly the road from the 



VALLEY OF THE RECLUS. 



127 



Little St. Bernard, below the rock, followed the 
course of the stream on its right bank; but the 
path was much exposed to eboulemens from the 
steep sides of Mont de Scez. The character of 
this part of the country is entirely adapted to the 
events of Hannibal's passage as related by Poly- 
bius. Without such guides as Magillus and his 
associates, the more obvious and direct course up 
the greater valley, the Val Isere, would have been 
pursued. The whole way that we had passed, 
from the gorge of Haute-Cour, bore the appear- 
ance of a course in which the army of Han- 
nibal might have been assailed, especially in a 
spot close by Centron ; and in the Mont de 
Scez. The whole right bank of the Reclus, from 
Scez to the Roche Blanche, is commanded by a 
height of from 200 to 300 feet, w r hich slopes from 
40 to 50 degrees, whence missiles thrown and 
stones rolled down would have been most destruc- 
tive to an army passing below. Much of this 
danger might be avoided by traversing the plain 
of Villars, and ascending the Little St. Bernard 
on the left bank of the Reclus, passing around 
and behind the Roche Blanche, where a party 
stationed to cover the army might effectually 
accomplish its protection : this Polybius clearly 
states was done by Hannibal. Whilst I was 
sketching the Rock, a respectable-looking man 
on horseback stopped, and, addressing me, said: 



128 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



u That, sir, is the Roche Blanche ; formerly a 
great general, called Hannibal, passed this way 
with his army, and fought a great battle here." 
The inquiry into this historical event, to deter- 
mine the line of Hannibal's march, has carried 
his name into almost every pass of the Alps. 
Little value, therefore, can be attached to tra- 
dition ; but its absence might fairly be brought 
in evidence against any theory. The examination 
of the scenes connected with the events of Han- 
nibal's passage, was my first inducement to under- 
take this excursion: it struck me as odd, that none 
of the disputants gave views of the places and ob- 
jects connected with those events, as their fitness, 
without any regard to the picturesque, could better 
be shewn in a sketch than proved in a volume. 

In the surveys of this pass which were made 
under Napoleon, in contemplation of the forma- 
tion of a carriage -road across the Little St. Ber- 
nard, the engineers were led to decide upon the 
old Roman road as the intended line. Now, how- 
ever, a steep and fatiguing zig-zag path leads up 
to the village of St. Germains, where, in spite 
of its great elevation, walnut, apple, and plum- 
trees, are found, and bear fruit, though scanty and 
stunted. Above St. Germains the road ascends gra- 
dually ; and as we saw there was assistance enough 
to bring forward the volantin, we proceeded to- 
wards the hospice, and left them to follow us. 



HOSPICE OF THE LITTLE ST. BERNARD. 129 

From the highest part of the road, whence we 
could look back on the valley of the Isere, which 
we had ascended yesterday, the scene was mag- 
nificent : Scez and St. Maurice were below us, 
with the road winding down to St. Germains, 
and the side of the Roche Blanche overhanging 
the deep torrent of the Reclus, and beyond these 
the " alps o'er alps," which divide the Tarentaise 
from the Maurienne ; and again we saw, and it 
was the most beautiful object in the scene, the 
remarkable mountain — its form could never be 
mistaken — mentioned in our descent to Chapiu 
from the Bonhomme. # We observed it also yes- 
terday, when opposite to the valley of Pesay, ce- 
lebrated for its silver mines, which are situated 
near the glaciers of this mountain, the Vanoise. 
High poles were placed at certain intervals on 
the road up the Little St. Bernard ; a necessary 
precaution, to point out the path when it is 
deeply covered with snow. 

At the hospice, which we reached, after much 
loitering, in six hours, we found no monks, but a 
decent man and his family, who furnished wine, 
and bread and cheese, and meat if required, to 
the travellers who crossed the mountain. His 
wife was a fine interesting woman, who seemed 
out of place here, — too gentle for her rugged and 
exposed habitation. She was the only woman 

* See page 28. 
g2 



130 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



that I had seen look well in the singular head- 
dress of the Tarentaise, which it is difficult to 
describe. Her husband was a sturdy moun- 
taineer. They had several children, as hardy as 
the lichens on their rocks. One little urchin, 
not three years old, was ordered to display his 
vocal powers, in calling the cows from the moun- 
tains: his loud and shrill shout was deafening. 
Beds may, in case of necessity, be had here ; 
but the greater part of the buildings of the hos- 
pice were destroyed in the contest between the 
French and the Austro- Sardinians, in the year 
1794. Prior to that time it had been held by some 
monks of the Great St. Bernard. The man now in 
the occupation of it is appointed by the Sardinian 
government. The poor traveller is assisted gratis, 
but those who can afford to pay are charged as at an 
inn. Life in the winter can scarcely be endurable 
here ; and we could not help pitying the destiny of 
our gentle hostess. 

The hospice is situated near the brink of the 
descent into the Tarentaise, whence to the other 
extremity of the plain, which forms the summit 
of the pass of the Little St. Bernard, the distance 
is about a league, and its width is about a mile ; 
on each side it is bounded by high mountains. 
We rested at the hospice until our party arrived 
with the vehicle, when, leaving them to refresh, 
we started across the col for our descent into Pie- 



SUMMIT OF THE LITTLE ST. BERNARD. 131 



mont. The great chain of the Alps which passes 
through the dominions of the King of Sardinia is 
the line of demarcation between Savoy, which lies 
on the western side, and Piemont, on the eastern 
side of the High Alps. 

At the distance of nearly a mile from the hos- 
pice, on the plain of the col, is a column known 
by the name of the Colonne de Joux. It is a shaft, 
without a capital or base, about twenty feet high, 
and three feet diameter at five feet from the ground ; 
a small iron cross has been stuck on the top, a 
religious emblem which has, perhaps, preserved the 
column from destruction. It is of the variety of 
marble known by the name of Cipolino, of which 
great quantities are found in the neighbouring 
mountain of the Cramont. In the scene from the 
plain of the Little St. Bernard, Mont Blanc is a fine 
feature, as it appears towering over the Cramont 
and other intermediate mountains. At the base 
of the nearest of these is the little Lake of Vernai, 
which has been described as upon the Little St. 
Bernard. It is one of the sources of the Doire, 
and the streams from the northern side of this 
pass flow into it. It, however, occupies no part of 
the plain, but lies at the base of the neighbouring 
mountain, and far below the commencement of the 
descent to La Tuile. 

From the northern extremity of the col the 
road winds down by a difficult path amidst blocks 



132 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



of tufa, which continue almost as far as Pont Ser- 
rant. This village, the first on the Piemontese 
side of the pass, owes its name to a wooden bridge 
a little below it, which is thrown across a frightful 
chasm, where, at the depth of 250 feet, the 
torrent is seen foaming in its course towards the 
open valley. The ravine over which this bridge is 
thrown is only twelve paces across from rock to 
rock. In approaching it, no appearance of a gulf 
presented itself, until we were within a few feet of 
it, and then it seemed more like a haw-haw in a 
pleasure-ground. From Pont Serrant we soon 
reached La Tuile, by a tolerable mule-road. We 
had again descended to cultivation, and the walls 
on each side of the road protected fields of barley. 
We scarcely entered the village of La Tuile, which 
lay on our right, on the banks of the torrent that 
descends from the great glacier of the Ruitor, and 
falls here into the Doire. Turning abruptly to the 
left, we followed the stream a little way, then 
crossing it, ascended far above the river on its 
right bank, by a new road, which has, within 
these fifty years, been cut out of the rock on this 
side, to avoid the danger of descending by the old 
road, which lay much lower in the ravine, and on 
the other side. This is supposed to be the site of 
the difficulties that arose from the snow which the 
army of Hannibal encountered in its descent of 
the Alps. There was no snow now accumulated 



DESCENT FROM THE LITTLE ST. BERNARD. 133 

in the ravine ; but the difficulty of passing by the 
old road, when the avalanches from the Cramont 
thus choked it up, can be readily understood by 
any one who has observed the place. 

Our route continued high above the torrent ; 
but the day closed rapidly upon us. The moon- 
light which brightened the upper parts of the 
pine-forest through which we descended, served 
only to make the blackness of the parts of the 
ravine in shadow more intense. At length, by a 
zig-zag path we sunk into the depths of this glen, 
and crossed the river at La Balme. On the left 
bank, the darkness still destroyed all variety in 
the scenery. A peasant, with a scythe on his 
shoulder, came abruptly upon us, and roused in 
us the suspicion that he was a " knight of the 
moon y; but it was unjust. We were, however, 
without guides, in a strange land, and by night, 
and these may be offered as excuses for the precau- 
tion of ascertaining that our pistols were in order. 
After again crossing and re-crossing the Doire, 
we found ourselves high above the torrent, which, 
even in the stillness of the night, could scarcely be 
heard, as it passed in the deep abyss beneath us, 
and entered an immense rift, or chasm, in the 
mountain, to seek its shortest course into the valley 
of Pre St. Didier. We soon afterwards found our- 
selves descending by a steep road ; the haze in the 
valley indicated its extension into the little plain 



134 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



of St. Didier ; and we soon afterwards found our- 
selves in the occupation of a comfortable fireside at 
the Auberge de l'Ours. 

16th. — Cries of distress awoke us this morn- 
ing : the tolling of the bell, and the evident pre- 
parations for a funeral by the assembled visitors in 
white vestments over their usual dress, assured us 
of a village mortality. The answer to our inquiries 
in the inn was, " The mother of this house is gone 
to another world." She had lived in this auberge 
till 84 years of age. A numerous attendance in 
this last public duty towards her was evidence of 
the regard in which this village chronicle was 
held : above ninety persons in funeral dresses, 
beside others, bore this testimony to their respect 
for her character. 

From the windows of our inn Mont Blanc 
appeared in all his majesty and magnificence; 
his form was splendidly lit up by the morning 
sun, his enduring and enormous snows and gla- 
ciers shone brightly against the deep blue of a 
cloudless sky ; and it was so entirely free from 
mist, that the light edges of the snow cut the 
firmament as sharply as if it had been an object 
of lesser magnitude within a few feet of us, or 
as if it had been presented to us without the in- 
tervention of air. This grand and impressive view 
of Mont Blanc, seen from the window, where 
we also overlooked the villagers at their sad and 



VILLAGE FUNERAL BATHS OF ST. DIDTER. 135 

sacred rites, was a subject for a burst of poetical 
feeling from such a pen as Byron's; for the re- 
flection naturally swept o'er the mind, that Mont 
Blanc, unchanged in countless ages, marked, in 
striking contrast, the endurance here of man but 
for a moment, though the great age which the 
old landlady had attained was mentioned with 
surprise, respect, and gratitude. 

We were uneasy last night that our volantin 
had not arrived ; but this morning, about eight 
o'clock, we had the satisfaction of seeing it in 
safety. Our things had not suffered much from 
the jolting, though they had a little from Jean 
Guarda's geologising : he had collected some pieces 
of coal near Gap, on his journey with my friend ; 
and as, he said, nobody in his valley would be- 
lieve that " earth would burn like a candle," he 
had taken some with him to convince them of 
the wonders which he had seen in his journey. 
The men whom we had hired to bring the car- 
riage from St. Maurice had rested for the night 
at La Tuile. Whilst they breakfasted at St. Di- 
dier, my friend and I walked to the hot springs 
about half a mile from the village. The Doire 
is crossed at the base of some immense rocks, 
called the Mont des Bains, which overhang, 
at an appalling height, the house into which 
the hot water is conducted for the service of the 
invalids. We ascended the ravine to the source, 



136 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



where the water escapes from the spring at a tem- 
perature of above 90 degrees. We were surprised 
to see a frog enjoying himself in the warm stream. 
Close to this spring, the torrent of the Doire issues 
from the deep rift in the mountains into which 
we last night observed that it entered. The view 
of Mont Blanc, the Geant, the Grand Jorasse, and 
the pinnacles, glaciers, and snows, of this most 
elevated portion of the great chain, seen from the 
baths, is magnificent beyond description. 

About ten o'clock we left Pre St. Didier, and 
soon after, crossing by a good bridge the waters of 
the Doire which descend from Mont Blanc, entered 
again upon our route of the 18th of August, in 
the valley of Aosta, between Courmayeur and 
Morges. On our way through La Salle, we saw 
our dirty old acquaintance at the " Rose a bon 
logis;" we reminded her of the " dodizy liri," 
but resisted her coaxing invitations to renew our 
enjoyments at her house. A char-a-banc, with 
two Englishmen, followed us closely as we de- 
scended the valley ; and upon resting on our route, 
under a trellis of vines in front of an inn, to 
refresh our horse, they rested also. Our guide 
said, with surprise, " They are your countrymen, 
and you have not spoken to them — what queer 
people you are !" I excused our reluctance to 
make the acquaintance of our countrymen abroad, 
from our ignorance of their characters at home, 



AOSTA. 



137 



and from our conviction, that many of them 
pass their time at liberty, out of England, whose 
peregrinations at home would be confined to the 
wards of a prison, either upon the felon's or the 
debtor's side. Jean thought our suspicions unrea- 
sonable ; and as they laid no restraint upon him, 
he made their acquaintance at once, and assured 
us afterwards that they were braves hommes. 

We arrived early enough at Aosta to take a 
peep again at the Roman remains. Thanks to 
our guide, he had taken us to the Ecu de Valais, 
and we thus avoided the dirty Hotel de la Poste, 
of which we had some unpleasant recollections. 
It happened that our fellow-travellers, but not 
companions, had arrived also at our hotel, and we 
were requested, by a buxom servant girl, to join 
them at dinner ; to this we acceded, and an ac- 
quaintance was made, where we had before been, 
of course, mutually shy. They were, a major in 
the English service going to Turin, and a Scotch 
clergyman, Mr. C, who was going by the Great 
St.. Bernard to Geneva. We passed a short time 
with them very pleasantly, thanks to the girl who 
brought us together : her object had been to save 
trouble, and gain profit, by waiting upon one 
party instead of two, and making the dinner pre- 
pared for two serve for four. Jean Guarda ap- 
peared to be perfectly at home here ; our hostess 
happened to be related to him, and Jean was a 



138 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



little in the family secrets; for he made some pro- 
voking inquiries of our buxom attendant about 
her frequent visits to the hospice of St. Bernard; 
he said that she never missed a fete, and often 
made one ; and joked her, without much refine- 
ment, about her acquaintance with the prior. 
His insinuations, which we could not misunder- 
stand, brought into her countenance an odd mix- 
ture of blushes and effrontery. We shall here 
have to part with our worthy conductor, who has 
been to us most obliging, attentive, and amusing. 
We have hired a char-a-banc to take us to St. 
Remy to-morrow morning, on our way to the 
Great St. Bernard. 



139 



CHAPTER IX. 

Ascent to the Great St. Bernard — Hospice — Courtesies and 
Character of the Monks — Their Resources — Travellers — 
Records of Visitors in the Travellers' Book — The Chapel 
— The Morgue — Scene from the Hospice — Temple of 
Jupiter — Ancient History of the Pass — Foundation of 
the Hospice — Its History in the Middle Ages — Present 
State. 

Sept. Ylth. — Jean Guarda returned this morn- 
ing to his home at Chatillon, driving the major 
down the valley ; our new Scotch friend had started 
before us on horseback for the hospice. On our 
leaving the valley of Aosta, we again met with 
some horridly goitred objects ; to escape from them 
lessened our regret on leaving the beautiful Val 
d'Aosta, peopled as it is by a filthy race, upon 
whom a physical blight seems to have fallen ; and 
the impolicy of the Sardinian government with- 
holds the only chance of remedy, the formation of 
a good road over the Little St. Bernard, which, by 
opening a free communication between Piemont 
and Savoy, both within its territories, would, by 
giving them more employment and property, and 
the example of the cleaner and healthier habits of 
other people, remove the chief, if not the only 



140 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



cause of their physical debility — a sort of hydro- 
phobia — a hatred of water and cleanliness. 

There is little to interest in the scenery from 
Aosta to the hospice, except the beautiful view on 
looking back upon the city, where it lies deeply 
seated in its valley , and surrounded by lofty moun- 
tains, especially that of the Soana, whose snows 
were now resplendent in the morning sun. Near 
St. Gignod we had a fine peep into the Val Pellina; 
but the rest of the road to St. Remy was unin- 
teresting. At Etroubles our passports were ex- 
amined, before our departure from the states of 
Sardinia. The road to the hospice is practicable 
for a char, even to its doors ; but as it is very 
steep above St. Remy, mules are usually pro- 
vided. This is desirable where parties return the 
same day to St. Remy, as the horse from Aosta 
then rests at St. Remy until the return of the 
travellers; and, in general, the passage of the 
mountain is so frequent, that the conductors of 
return chars to Aosta wait as late as possible for 
the chance of employment back. At St. Remy we 
had refreshment of excellent wine, eggs, bread, and 
butter, and served by a beautiful little girl, the 
daughter of the innkeeper — an Ariel among the 
Calibans of her village. Whilst we took refresh- 
ment, mules were sought for : they are usually at 
hand, but to-day they were all employed in gather- 
ing in the harvest, or in bringing wine from Aosta : 



ASCENT TO THE GREAT ST. BERNARD. 141 

however, in about an hour two were procured ; for 
a charge of six francs, they were to take us to 
the hospice ; or if we chose to retain them to 
proceed to Liddes, on the Valais side of the moun- 
tain, to-morrow, we are to pay eighteen francs. 

On leaving St. Remy, a boll was necessary 
for the mules, as at Cesanne ; but the prepose 
was very civil. I endeavoured to acknowledge 
this by a piece of money, which he surprised me 
by refusing : we began to think that their inci- 
vility at Val Tournanche was an exception to 
their general character in Piemont. We ascended 
through scenes of great wildness, and entered the 
plain of the Vacherie, where the cattle of the hos- 
pice pasture. A road winds around this place, to 
render the ascent to the summit more gradual : on 
attaining it, we suddenly entered a gorge at a great 
elevation, whence the mountains, rising above each 
other, present to the observer a sublime panorama. 
Here we saw r the hospice, on the opposite side of 
the lake, which is formed in a basin on the sum- 
mit of this pass. The establishment occupies the 
actual crest, at an elevation of about 8,200 En- 
glish feet above the level of the sea. 

We dismounted to make sketches of the scene 
where the lake lay between us and the hospice ; 
the Mont Velan, ribbed with glaciers, formed the 
background to our view. Whilst we were thus 
engaged, Mr. C, the Scotch clergyman, who had 



142 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



reached the hospice sometime before, came down 
to welcome us, and was rewarded with some- 
thing which brought tears in his eyes, from its 
strength, or the associations with home which it 
excited — a drop of real Glenlivet, which my friend 
has still saved, out of all its waste and perils, to 
drink to those at home on the last summit of the 
Alps which we should cross this year. The time 
had arrived, and our new friend was a welcome 
and gratified participator in, probably, the only 
whisky that was ever drank on the Great St. 
Bernard. 

The scene around us was nearly closed in by 
mountains, peaks, and rocks, which descend even 
to the hospice : upon the latter of these, bordering 
the lake, lay large patches of snow, from which it 
is rarely free throughout the year. The spot was 
wild beyond imagination, and combined features 
of the sublime and the beautiful, to which we were 
impatient to add a third — the social — which, 
even in this wilderness in the clouds, we received 
from the kind and gentlemanly attentions of the 
monks of St. Bernard. They were at their duties 
in the chapel when we entered ; but we were 
welcomed by a fine, respectable-looking servant, 
Victor, who realised the proverb, " like master 
like man;" — he was one of the fittest precursors 
to their hospitality that I ever saw. In a few 
minutes he placed refreshment before us, and said 



RECEPTION AT THE HOSPICE. 143 



that we should be expected at six o'clock to sup 
with the brethren. The decent, unpretending kind- 
ness of this welcome delighted us. We were soon 
after greeted by some of the monks : and sur- 
prised to see them all young men, at least none 
were forty. We learnt that they volunteer into 
this kind and devoted service at eighteen years of 
age : their vows are for fifteen years to this duty ; 
but few are robust enough to bear the severities of 
the winter at this height, without feeling their 
effects in broken constitutions and ruined health. 

In the summer of 1816 the ice of the lake 
never melted, and not a week passed without snow 
falling : the severest cold recorded was 29 deg. 
below the zero of Fahrenheit, — it has often been 
observed at 18 and 20 deg. below. The greatest 
heat has been 68 deg. of Fahrenheit ; but even in 
the height of summer it always freezes early in 
the morning. The hospice is rarely four months 
clear of snow : its average depth around the build- 
ing is seven or eight feet, and sometimes the 
drifts accumulate to the height of forty feet against 
the hospice. The entrance, for this reason, is at- 
tained by a flight of steps, which lead to what 
may be called the first floor ; below, are the 
stables, store-rooms for wood, &c. This leads to 
a corridor, and thence into various offices ; on the 
floor above, another corridor leads to the chapel, 
the refectory, the separate chambers for the re- 



144 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



ligieux, and extensive accommodation for travel- 
lers, in which the neatness and comfort of the 
arrangements add greatly to an Englishman's 
enjoyment of his reception. One chamber is 
devoted to visitors, especially the ladies ; it may 
be considered as the drawing-room of the esta- 
blishment. To decorate this room, travellers have 
presented to the hospice prints and drawings, and 
even a pianoforte has been added to the means of 
enjoyment here. A cabinet is attached to this 
chamber, which contains collections made by the 
monks of the plants and minerals around the 
Great St. Bernard, and antiques from the ruins of 
the Temple of Jupiter, wljich formerly stood on 
this mountain. These consist of votive tablets and 
figures in bronze and other metals, arms, and 
coins, and are a great resource to the visitors at 
the hospice, if the weather should be unfavourable 
enough to detain them within its walls. 

The perilous passage of these mountains is 
more frequently undertaken in the winter than is 
generally imagined : it is difficult to conceive the 
necessity or urgency of affairs which can lead per- 
sons, at such a season, through such scenes of 
danger. They are generally pedlars or smug- 
glers, who mount the pass from either side, in 
defiance of the snows, tourmentes, and avalanches 
of these high regions. During the severe cold of 
winter the snow at this elevation forms and falls 



AVALANCHES. 



145 



like dust ; it congeals so soon, and so hard, that 
the particles do not attach and form flakes when 
they touch, as in lower regions ; and instead of 
consolidating beneath the pressure of the travel- 
ler's feet, they rise around him in powder, and 
he sinks to his middle. These snow-storms, when 
accompanied by violent winds, are called tour- 
mentes, and are often fatal to the poor wretches 
who encounter them; unable then to trace the path, 
they wander and fall over precipices. The avalan- 
ches, too, take their share of victims. The summer 
avalanche is caused by the submelting of the snow, 
which undermines its support ; and the mass, once 
set in motion, descends with great violence. The 
avalanches of winter are occasioned by the masses 
of snow accumulating on the slopes of the moun- 
tains, where it is too dry to attach firmly; and when 
the weight of snow exceeds the supporting resistance 
of the surface of the ground, it slides off into the 
valley below, with a suddenness and violence 
which the monks who described it compared to 
the discharge of a cannon-ball : these are the sort 
of avalanches which in the winter render the ap- 
proach to the hospice very dangerous. Near the 
convent the mountains are steep, and the traveller 
is exposed to almost certain destruction, if an 
avalanche fall whilst he passes ; and the poor 
wretch, buried beneath the mass, is found only 
when the snow melts, and the summer, which 

H 



146 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 

to him never returns, discovers the victim in these 
regions of winter. Under every circumstance 
in which it is possible to render assistance, the 
worthy monks of St. Bernard set out upon their 
regularly appointed duties. Undismayed by the 
spirit of the storm, and obeying a higher Power, 
they seek, amidst the greatest dangers, the ex- 
hausted or overwhelmed traveller ; they are gene- 
rally accompanied by their dogs. The sagacity of 
these animals is so extraordinary, that they too, 
as if conscious of their performing a high duty, 
will roam alone the day and night through in 
those desolate regions, discover the victim buried 
in the snow, and lie on him and lick him to 
impart warmth. They bear with them some re- 
freshing liqueur around their necks for the poor 
traveller whom they may find, if he should have 
still sense enough left to vise it ; they then bark 
or howl — their signals for assistance, or, if the 
distance be too great, return to seek it. These 
valuable and noble animals have often deserved 
gold collars from the Humane Society. At present 
there are only four of these dogs at the convent. 
Not long since a mortality prevailed among them, 
and they had almost become extinct. 

The number of resident monks is now twelve : 
they all, except the principal, work at the com- 
mon duties of their establishment ; they have five 
or six resident domestics, besides some at the 



SUPPER AT THE CONVENT. 



147 



vacherie, and in other services of the hospice. The 
religious order of the monks on the St. Bernard is 
that of St. Augustin, of which the distinguishing 
badge is a white narrow band, with an open slit 
some way along the middle. This is passed over 
the head, and hangs like a chain from the shoul- 
ders ; the ends are tucked, before and behind, into 
a black broad girdle, which is worn round the 
middle. Their dress is a long black cloth tunic, 
with sleeves which fit close. On the head they 
wear a pyramidal cap with a tuft at the top : the 
whole dress is gentlemanly and becoming. 

At supper we were placed at the head of the 
table ; it was Friday ; the soup, though maigre, 
was excellent — the fish, pieces of salt cod, dressed 
with cream and currants, delicious omelettes, 
cheese and fruit, completed our repast. The vin 
ordinaire was good, and an extra bottle was 
served to us of some delicious Italian wine. 
Their courteous and polite attentions to their 
guests were those which would indicate more 
social intercourse with the world than they can 
have had ; and we received this kindness, in 
regions otherwise inhospitable, from men whose 
habits might have been monkish and secluded, 
instead of their being the dispensers of such re- 
freshing and unexpected manna as they offered 
to us in this wilderness. The conversation at 
table was general and most rational. It had no 



148 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



restraint but in the respect which their characters 
and conduct commanded. Their information was 
more extensive than I had expected to find it upon 
the state of literature and science in the world 
they had left. This they derive from the periodical 
works of some academic bodies which are sent 
to them : they have a small library, principally 
composed of theological works. Much of their 
knowledge is acquired by their intercourse with 
their visitors, which during the short summer at 
the hospice is extensive, and, among the crowd, 
many respectable and well-informed travellers 
furnish them with information. There is a pro- 
priety in their inquiries, and an apparent interest 
in the affairs of mankind in their conversation, 
which, except that it is entirely free from dis- 
content and affectation, would induce the traveller 
to imagine that their cells sometimes heard their 
sighs for a freer intercourse with the world. In 
reply to some questions which I put to the prior 
about the state of their funds, and the report 
which had prevailed in England that the ab- 
sence of Napoleon from the political world had 
lessened their resources, he informed me that 
their finances were now in a flourishing condition, 
and that Buonaparte rather impoverished than 
enriched them. It is true that he had assisted 
them with donations ; but his claims upon them 
for the purveyance of his soldiers had exceeded 



ENGLISH ARRIVALS. 



149 



these benefits — they had had 40 men quartered 
upon them for months together, and 60,000 had 
passed by the hospice and been assisted in one 
year. Now, however, the prior said, their re- 
sources were increasing : the peace of Europe 
enabled those strangers to visit the hospice who 
travelled for pleasure, and could afford to aid 
their funds. Those who can pay, though no charge 
is made, usually deposit something in the box 
in the chapel of the convent, which is rarely 
less than the parties would have paid at an inn; 
the poor traveller is always fed and lodged 
gratis. 

After our arrival to-day, not fewer than ten 
other visitors reached the hospice in three par- 
ties. An English young married couple, with two 
friends, passing the honeymoon in Switzerland 
and Savoy — an Englishman and his wife, with 
their children, a son and daughter, about twelve 
or fourteen years old. These remained in the 
drawing-room, an apartment particularly appro- 
priated to their visitors when there were ladies in 
the party. We did not visit them, as for once we 
preferred the society of the monks. The third party 
was an intolerable young puppy, an Englishman ; 
he came with his servant, who wore the dress of 
a courier. This precious specimen of the worst 
produce of our country, entered the room with 
vulgar discourtesy, as if he had done the hospice 



150 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



prodigious honour in condescending to come there 
at all ; returned uncivil looks to the proffered 
kindness of the monks, flung himself into an arm- 
chair, and giving to another the honour of sup- 
porting his legs, wrapt himself up in his ignorant, 
or, as he of course thought, dignified silence, 
until his servant entered to tell him that his room 
and refreshment were ready, when he ordered a 
fire in his chamber. This almost upset the tran- 
quillity of the kind-hearted principal, who, after 
the puppy had retired, hinted to us, with more 
delicacy than the object deserved, that the last 
was the heaviest claim he could make upon their 
hospitality, as the difficulty of procuring fuel is 
very great. The whole hospice is warmed by an 
apparatus which renders particular fires at this 
season unnecessary in the chambers : it certainly 
was not needed by the young and healthy cox- 
comb who had ordered what ought to have been 
reserved for an invalid, the traveller in winter, 
or to render more endurable to themselves the 
severities of the awful situation to which they were 
generously devoted for the service of others. Not 
a bush is to be found near the hospice, and the 
wood for its service is obtained from the forest of 
Ferret, a distance of nearly four leagues. The 
consumption of wood is very great ; for at the 
hospice, owing to its great elevation, water boils 
at a temperature considerably less than on a level 



travellers' book. 



151 



with the sea : this is so unfavourable for the con- 
coction of meat, that it requires longer boiling, 
and, of course, a greater quantity of fuel is con- 
sumed. 

One of the parties arrived late, between nine 
and ten o'clock. The night was calm and beauti- 
tiful, and so warm for this elevation, that we en- 
joyed looking out of the window upon the still and 
deep and solemn scene which surrounded us. One 
of the brethren said, " There is company ascend- 
ing the mountain on the Swiss side but, silent as 
the grave as every thing was around us, our ears 
were not susceptible of such nice distinctions of 
sound : he said that they were very distant. He 
was right : the party with the children arrived long 
enough after to astonish us at the perception which 
he must have had of their approach. 

A book at the hospice contains an amusing re- 
cord of visitors, characters, and opinions. Here it 
has been kept for several years ; and I hope that it 
may long be sacred, and that the practice of steal- 
ing autographs will never extend its sacrilege to 
the convent of the Great St. Bernard. It has, how- 
ever, been done to such an extent in other places, 
that whole books have been stolen ; and an entire 
one can scarcely now be found upon the usual 
routes of travellers, where, only three years ago, 
no person dared to detach a leaf. At St. Martin's, 
Salenches, Chamouny, &c. the visitors' books have 



152 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



been violated for autographs, with the same reck- 
lessness that certain illustrators tore out portraits 
and effigies, some time ago, from printed works, 
to gratify a mania, for which they deserved the 
galleys. 

The travellers' book on the St. Bernard is 
a source of amusement to all visitors. Here 
the divine, the actor, the man of science, the 
merchant, the man of rank, and the idler, have 
united in a general acknowledgment of the 
urbanity of these kind-hearted monks, whose pro- 
fession is humanity, and who practise true Christ- 
ianity. The divine has done justice to their 
worth, by forgetting his prejudices against their 
religious precepts in a recorded admiration of 
their practised duties ; an actor, charmed by their 
cheerfulness, leaves in the book his avowal that 
he has passed at the Great St. Bernard " the hap- 
piest day of his life;" # the philosopher's memo- 
rial thanks them for the kind interest which they 
took, and the assistance which they rendered him 
in some delicate scientific experiments ; the mer- 
chant who visits them in his six weeks' journey of 
pleasure, writes ditto to some praise of their kind- 
ness; and the painter, the poet, and the lord, leave 
their sketches, verses, and names, in the universal 
desire to acknowledge their gratification and their 
thanks. What execration then does that selfish being 
* Kean's autograph. 



TOMB OF DESSAIX THE MORGUE. 153 

deserve who can rob a thousand persons of the plea- 
sure of reading these memorials in their original 
locality ! Yet some have even been found to boast 
of their luck in possessing such stolen autographs, 
without blushing for the heartless thefts by which 
they had been obtained. 

We retired early to rest. The chamber in which 
we slept was long and narrow ; it contained three 
excellent beds, with curtains, and double windows. 
Every thing was clean to Flemish niceness ; and 
even some of the usual requisites of an English 
toilet were placed on the table. 

18th. — We arose early, visited the chapel, and 
dropped our donations into the box. The princi- 
pal object of visitors in the chapel, is the tomb of 
Dessaix, who fell at Marengo. It was placed here 
by order of Napoleon, who is said to have laid the 
first stone ; and ordered a medal to be struck in 
commemoration of the hero : the cenotaph erected 
on the spot where he fell has been removed by 
the Sardinian government, to the dishonour of 
the violators. 

Before our departure from the hospice we 
visited the morgue, a little stone hovel, the re- 
ceptacle of the dead : it is a few yards only from 
the hospice. Here the bodies of the unfortunate 
people who have perished in these mountains have 
been placed, left with their clothes on, to assist the 
recognition by their friends, if they have any. In 
h2 



154 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



these high regions there is scarcely soil enough 
to bury them ; and it is impossible to break it u 
where the frosts are so intense. Here they hav 
been placed just as they were found ; and upo 
looking through the grated windows, the bodie 
are seen in the postures in which they perished 
Here they have " dried up and withered ;" for the 
evaporation is so rapid at this height, that the fou 
ness of mortality is less offensive than in warme 
situations; and the bodies are long preserved, owin 
to their having dried without decay. Upon som 
the clothes had remained after eighteen years 
though tattered like a gibbet- wardrobe. Some 
these bodies presented a horrid aspect ; part of th 
bones of the head were exposed and blanched 
whilst black integuments were attached to othe 
parts of the face : we particularly remarked th 
in a sitting peasant. A mother and her child wer 
among the latest victims ; several bodies were stand 
ing against the wall, upon the accumulated heap 
of miserable predecessors, presenting an appalin 
scene. This receptacle contained two chamber 
the air freely traversed both, without bearing 
the nostrils of the observer at the grate the fo 
evidence of its transition through these dreadf 
regions of the dead. On one side of the cells wa 
a walled enclosure, where there was a great accu 
mulation of bones, white, broken, and apparentl 
the gathering of ages. They might be remov 



SITUATION OF THE HOSPICE. 155 



and buried in the summer; but they are left to 
their long decay by the monks, probably from a 
religious feeling, to have before them these me- 
morials of mortality. 

The convent is massive, strong, and well adapted 
to its perilous situation, which is on the very highest 
point of the pass, where it is exposed to tremendous 
storms from the north-east and south-west. On the 
north-west it is sheltered by the Mont Chenelletaz, 
and in an opposite direction by the Mont Mort. 
There is no mountain which bears the name of the 
St. Bernard. Like that of the St. Gothard, the 
name is only given to the pass. The chief building 
is capable of accommodating 70 or 80 travellers 
with beds : 300 may be sheltered ; and between 
500 and 600 have received assistance in one day. 
Besides this, there is a house near the hospice on 
the other side of the way ; it was built as a place 
of refuge in case of fire — an event which has twice 
happened here since the foundation of the esta- 
blishment. It bears the name of the Hotel de 
St. Louis, which was given in compliment to the 
kings of France, whose protection was often ex- 
tended to the hospice. It is chiefly used for 
offices, and by the domestics of the establishment. 

Looking back towards the valley of Aosta, the 
scene is sterile and dreary : patches of snow lie all 
the year round on the rocky slopes which sweep 
down from the mountains to the lake of the 



156 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



hospice ; and beyond its waters, and over the unseen 
valley of the vacherie, the pinnacled summit of 
the Pain de Sucre, with its rocks and snows, add 
to the dreary aspect of the scene. About half-way 
on the road which borders the lake, a column 
stands, which now marks the frontiers of Piemont 
and the Valais. Above and beyond it lies the 
little plain, or rather platform, for plain conveys 
an idea of extent which does not properly apply 
to a spot scarcely larger than sufficient for the 
site of the Temple dedicated to Jupiter, which 
formerly stood here ; its foundations may still be 
traced. From it a Roman road led down on 
the Piemontese side of the pass. There are re- 
mains of the massive pavement of this road, 
and it may be traced also in the hewn rock ; 
but of the temple itself not a vestige remains 
above the surface. The period of its foundation is 
unknown ; but many of the bronze votive tablets 
which have been found in its ruins appear to 
be of great antiquity : they were placed in the 
temple and on the altars by travellers, in grati- 
tude for their escape from perils in their journey 
across these Alps. Some are inscribed to a 
god Penninus, others to Jupiter. This differ- 
ence arose probably from the nation of the de- 
votee ; for when the Romans became acquainted 
with this pass, the worship of Jupiter for that 
of Penninus was a change only in name, and 



TEMPLE OF JUPITER. 



157 



Penninus was preserved with that of Jupiter after 
they had extended their conquests beyond these 
Alps. The religious worship, if not the temple, had 
long been established upon these heights. From 
the fragments, however, which have been found of 
the temple, it appears to have been a Roman work 
of a time probably not earlier than that of Au- 
gustus. Under the younger Constantine, in the 
year 339, a military column was substituted for 
the statue of Jupiter ; but this was not, probably 3 
the period of the destruction of the temple ; for 
medals of the children of Theodosius have been 
found there of a date fifty years later. Chretien 
de Loges, in his Essais Historiques sur le Mont 
St. Bernard, has conjectured that the temple was 
destroyed by the Huns and Vandals during their 
ravages ; for it was not in existence when the 
Lombards traversed these Alps in the year 574. 

The name of this mountain, or rather of this 
range of the Pennine Alps, is generally admitted to 
be of Celtic origin, from pen, or penn, a height, a 
term still preserved in Cornwall and Wales, as in 
Pendennis and Percmaenmawr. Those, however, 
who have absurdly sought to establish the passage 
of Hannibal by the Great St. Bernard, have de- 
rived its name from the Poeni, whom he com- 
manded. The territories of the Veragri extended 
to the summit of this pass, which was the barrier 
between them and the Salassi, a people of the 



158 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Upper Val <T Aosta. Livy states, that on this moun- 
tain the Veragri worshipped a god of the Alps, 
Penninus, or Jupiter Pennirms; and one of the 
earliest names for this passage of the Alps was 
Mons Jovis, or Mons Jovis Penninus ; this was gal- 
licised into Mont Joux, by which it was generally 
known before it acquired that of St. Bernard. 

The first foundation of the hospice has been 
attributed by some to Louis le Debonnaire, by 
others to Charlemagne, whose uncle Bernard, an 
illegitimate son of Charles Martel, led a division of 
the invading army of Charlemagne over the Great 
St. Bernard, when he went to attack Lombardy. 
The present name of the pass, Saussure supposes, 
might have been derived from this Bernard ; but 
there was another of the name, an illegitimate son 
of Pepin, to whom Charlemagne left the kingdom 
of Italy. To him may rather be attributed, if not 
the original establishment, the patronage of the 
hospice, from the interest which he would have in 
preserving the communication with Gaul by this 
passage of the Alps, and with it have given his 
name. There is historical evidence that a monas- 
tery existed on the Great St. Bernard at least as 
early as 760, which is fifty years before the time 
of Louis le Debonnaire. Vultgaire was then abbot, 
and, it is said, was elected thirty-four years after 
the foundation, which would carry this event back 
to 726. Simler mentions that, in 851, Hartmann, 



FOUNDATION OF THE HOSPICE. 



159 



at that time abbe and almoner of Mont Joux, was 
made Bishop of Lausanne. The annals of Bertin 
state, that Lothaire the Second, king of Lorraine, 
in 859, made a treaty with his brother, the em- 
peror, Louis the Second, by which he ceded to him 
Geneva, Lausanne, and Sion, but reserved parti- 
cularly Vlwpital du Saint Bernard, which proves, 
says Saussure, the importance of this passage, and 
the name that it bore. But its history before this 
period is very obscure, because in the year 895 it 
was devastated by Arnaud, count of the Valais, 
whose enemy, Rodolph of Burgundy, had taken 
refuge at the hospice j and in revenge for the pro- 
tection thus given to him, Arnaud destroyed the 
monuments and records of the monastery. 

The present hospice was founded in 962, by 
Bernard, who was born of a noble family of Savoy, 
at the chateau of Menthon, on the lake of Annecy. 
A determination at an early age to devote himself 
to an ecclesiastical life induced him to desert his 
home and go to Aosta, of which city he afterwards 
became archdeacon. A coincidence of his name 
with that of the monastery, probably influenced his 
determination to re-establish the hospice on Mont 
Joux, of which he became the chief. He founded 
or restored at nearly the same time another on the 
Little Saint Bernard, and gave to them the name 
and placed them under the protection of his fa- 
vourite saint, Nicholas de Myre, as tutelary patron 



160 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



of these establishments ; by degrees the name of the 
devotee was joined to that of the saint, and after 
the canonization of Bernard, his name superseded 
that of all others, and has continued attached to 
the hospice since 1123. The attempt of Constan- 
tine to destroy the worship of Jupiter did not 
entirely succeed ; but Saint Bernard rooted out 
the remains of paganism, and founded an esta- 
blishment for active benevolence, to which thou- 
sands have been indebted. He died in 1008, after 
having governed the convent upwards of forty 
years. 

For some time after the death of Saint Bernard, 
the hospice was exposed to frequent outrages, 
from barbarians who traversed the mountains; 
and its records of the eleventh century present a 
succession of calamities. The Saracens overran 
the country, carrying fire and sword into the 
Alpine valleys ; the monastery of Mont Joux was 
burnt, and its ruins became a station of brigands, 
who plundered or exacted an exorbitant payment 
from all passengers through a barrier which they 
established at the south-western extremity of the 
lake. The Normans having determined to expel 
these marauders, broke down the barriers, and 
killed the guard. Still outrages continued; and 
Canute, king of England and Denmark, who made 
a pilgrimage to Rome in 1031, complained to the 
pope, and the emperor whom he met there, of 



STATE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 161 



the horrors and violence committed in the Alps 
upon his subjects going on pilgrimages to Rome, 
who seldom ventured to traverse these mountains, 
unless in companies of four or five hundred. 
His complaints were regarded, the tolls of the 
passage were abolished, and Canute, in conse- 
quence, wrote to his bishops and prelates, in- 
forming them, that he had secured the safety of 
the pilgrims in the route of the Pennine Alps. 
The brigands w r ere driven out ; good order suc- 
ceeded to outrage, and the convent was re-esta- 
blished. In the contests of the Emperor Frederic 
Barbarossa with Pope Alexander III., and Hum- 
bert, count of Maurienne, diplomas of protection 
were given by them to the convent, for the secu- 
rity of persons and property belonging to the 
monastery. It was one of the very few objects in 
which emperors, sovereign pontiffs, and other dis- 
tinguished persons, disputed the glory of fostering 
and protecting a foundation so important to huma- 
nity. Under such guardians the convent soon ac- 
quired great celebrity and opulence. As early as 
1177, it had, in various dioceses, eighty-eight bene- 
fices, in priories, cures, chateaux, and farms ; it 
had lands in Sicily, in Flanders, and in England. 
Its climax of riches and importance was in 1480, 
when it possessed ninety-eight cures alone. Subse- 
quently, however, the reformation, political changes 
in the states, loss of distant property, disputes with 



162 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the popes, with the neighbouring states, and with 
each other, drove the monks of Saint Bernard to 
seek even eleemosynary assistance. The very land 
upon which their noble duties are performed has 
been the subject of disputes between the neigh- 
bouring states. Sardinia claimed it as within a 
frontier extending to the bridge of Nudri, on the 
northern side of the pass of the Great St. Bernard ; 
but the Valaisans established a claim to it as within 
the diocese of Sion, by bulls of the popes from 
Leo IX. to Benoit XIV. The hospice, therefore, 
stands within the canton of the Valais ; but its 
authority extends only to the middle of the lake, 
where, on the borders, the column marks the line 
of demarcation ; and the excellent brethren oj 
Saint Bernard had not only all their property 
within the state of Sardinia taken from them, but 
they are actually taxed by this state for the use 
which they make of the summer pasturage of the 
vacherie. Very little property in land now belongs 
to the monks : they have a vineyard at Clarens, 
which, in the twenty-second note of the third canto 
of Childe Harold, is, to the disgrace of Lord Byron, 
made the subject of a sneer at the establishment on 
the Saint Bernard, for having, he says, cut down 
the " Bosquet de Julie" — "with brutal selfishness, 
that the ground might be enclosed into a vineyard 
for the miserable drones of an execrable super- 
stition :" he would thus, for the sake of Rousseau, 



PRESENT STATE. 



163 



set the worthlessness of such a " Bosquet" against 
the utility and value of a vineyard, a sort of pro- 
perty the most valuable near the lake of Geneva, 
which was to be employed so entirely in the ser- 
vice of humanity. This vineyard, and a farm at 
Roche, in the Pays de Vaud, are now their only 
possessions : from these their resources are small, 
and in aid of them collections are regularly made 
in the Swiss cantons; but this has been some- 
times abused by impostors who have collected as 
the agents of the hospice. 



164 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER X. 

Departure of Visitors — Descent from the Hospice — Plain of 
Prou — Forest of St. Pierre — Passage of Napoleon's Army 
in 1800— -Bourg St. Pierre — Liddes — Some English Tra- 
vellers — St. Branchier — Inundation of the Valley of Bagnes 
in 1818 — Details of the proceedings of the Engineers, 
and their unparalleled bravery — Valley of the Drance — 
Martigny. 

All the visitors had left the hospice before us. 
The party with the children, who had arrived after 
dark, started before daylight, enjoying the plea- 
sure of being able to assure their friends that they 
had visited the hospice of the Great St. Bernard ; 
they returned to the Valais the same way that 
they came. The honeymoon party had taken the 
same course, and we were now ready to follow 
them. The mules, which we had hired to go on 
with us to Liddes, had returned last night to St. 
Remy and been brought up again this morning : 
this is the custom when the season will allow it, 
unless they bring hay or corn with them, as it is 
necessary to preserve all the forage that they can 
save for winter store. Our Scotch friend had 
not been provident enough, or aware of this ; but 
with a promise of a share of our mules, he joined 



PLAIN OF PROU. 



165 



us in our journey to Martigny. We parted with 
regret from the excellent brethren at the hospice, 
and moving towards the enormous mass of Mont 
Velan, which, with its pinnacled rocks and stream- 
ing glaciers, appeared to close in our route in 
that direction, we began to descend, and soon lost 
sight of the building in the narrow way and steep 
declivity. After crossing two or three broad 
patches of snow and the bridge of Nudri, and 
passing, at the base of Mont Velan, through the 
scenes where avalanches are so frequent in the 
spring and winter, we arrived in an hour at two 
chalets called l'Hopital, a spot regularly visited 
in the dangerous season by the brethren of the 
convent, their servants, or their dogs, to search 
for travellers who need their assistance, and to 
leave some refreshments at one of the chalets. 

This descent from the hospice leads into the 
plain of Prou. A pasturage surrounded by the 
belles korreurs of the Alps, the glacier of Menoue, 
which descends from Mont Velan, and the savage, 
sterile, and lofty character of the objects which 
enclose the plain, well deserves this favourite epi- 
thet of the French. Stunted trees now began to 
appear, but at a greater depth from the summit 
than on the Italian side of the mountain. A 
stream, one of the sources of the Drance, descends 
through the plain from the glacier of Menoue, 
and enters a deep defile below the forest of Saint 



166 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Pierre. The road soon winds along the side of a 
ravine, amidst rocks and the trunks and roots of 
enormous larches and pines, which wildly over- 
hang the deep precipices above the foaming tor- 
rent ; these render the route impassable in a char. 
Here it was that Napoleon met with the greatest 
difficulty in transporting his cannon and materiel, 
in crossing the Great St. Bernard in May 1800. 
Under the direction of Marmont, who commanded 
the artillery, and Gassendi, the inspector of the 
ordinance, the cannon were dismounted and placed 
in the trunks of trees hollowed to receive them, and 
thus dragged up the steep and dangerous ascents by 
half a battalion, whilst the other half carried their 
own and their comrades' arms and accoutrements, 
with provision for five days. The gun-carriages and 
ammunition-wagons were taken to pieces, placed 
on mules, and thus conveyed across the mountain. 
The soldiers were often obliged to walk in single 
file ; and when the head of a column rested, it 
checked those behind. Availing themselves of 
the halt, the soldiers refreshed themselves with 
biscuits steeped in melted snow, and then, again 
advancing, beguiled their labour and renewed 
their exertions under the inspiration of national 
songs. Napoleon himself had a narrow escape 
here. In a dangerous part of the road, near the 
upper termination of the forest of St. Pierre, he 
slipped from his mule on the snow ; but he was 



FOREST AND BOURG OF ST. PIERRE. 



167 



saved from falling over a precipice by his guide, 
who caught him by the coat. The guide, who 
was a peasant, received a gift from Napoleon for 
this service of a thousand francs. How much of 
the eventful history of that period turned upon 
this little adventure ! 

From the forest of Saint Pierre the scene 
looking towards the hospice was one of extraordi- 
nary grandeur. The road winding through the 
steep intricacies of rocks and the roots of old pines, 
overhangs on the right the deep ravine in which 
the Drance flows ; and beyond the forest the path 
could still be traced to the plain of Prou, bounded 
by lofty mountains, glaciers, and the enormous 
mass of the Mont Velan. 

From the forest, the rugged path leads down 
to the village of Saint Pierre, which is entered 
by an old gate, connected with a wooden bridge 
thrown across a very deep and narrow ravine, 
through which the Drance rushes at a frightful 
depth. It reminded us of the scene at the Pont 
Serrant on the Little St. Bernard. Bourg Saint 
Pierre is a village of great antiquity ; in proof of 
which, numerous relics and inscriptions are found 
and preserved there. Among these is the military 
column dedicated to the younger Constantine, 
which, De Rivaz says, formerly replaced the statue 
of Jupiter that was on the summit of the Great 
St. Bernard, but which was destroyed by Con- 



168 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



stantine about the year 339. There is a fine 
cascade near St. Pierre. From this village we 
proceeded to Liddes, over a road scarcely good 
enough for a char-a-banc, though these carriages 
are sometimes brought as high up as St. Pierre 
from Martigny. At Liddes we rested our mules, 
and agreed to pay ten francs more for their use to 
Martigny. 

Here we found at the inn the parties who had 
left the hospice in the morning. The honey- 
mooners had possession of a long table in the 
eating -room, whilst we were seated at a small 
round marble slab. Soon after our arrival, the 
party with the children came in from a walk, and 
joined those at the long table, who we thought 
did not appear particularly delighted by the re- 
newal of an acquaintance began last night at the 
hospice. The children were so oddly dressed, that 
the difference of sex was not very obvious ; the 
boy's long frock-coat and the girl's trousers left 
it very questionable, until mamma, holding out the 
plate of the child near her, addressed the young 
married lady with, " Miss, I'll thankee to an my 
Selina a bit of that 'ere." If my friend had not 
borne testimony to the truth of this mem, written 
verbatim at the moment, I should be open to 
suspicion of having exaggerated it, and the dis- 
belief that such vulgarity could have reached the 
Great St. Bernard. I only record it as a subject 



ST. BRANCHIER. 



169 



for astonishment, how such persons ever thought 
of such a journey. In my sketch yesterday of 
the variety of visitors to the hospice, I omitted 
this ; but, in fact, I had no idea that the gentilities 
of Wapping had ever extended so far from the 
Thames. 

From Liddes we descended through some 
beautiful close scenes, in the Val d'Entremont, 
luxuriant in vegetation. After passing through 
the village of Orsieres, whence a valley leads, by 
the Col de Ferret, to Courmayeur, we proceeded 
down to the little town of St. Branchier, situated 
at the entrance of the Valley of Bagnes, and near 
the confluence of the streams which descend from 
the two principal sources of the Drance, the gla- 
ciers of Mont Velan and those of Charmotane. 
The latter are of vast extent to the eastward of 
Mont Velan, and the route to them lies up through 
the Valley of Bagnes : they are very difficult of 
access, though for a few days in the height of 
summer the peasants sometimes cross over them 
into the Val Pellina, in Piemont. It was by this 
dangerous pass that Calvin escaped from the per- 
secutions of others in the Val d'Aosta, to practise 
his own at Geneva. 

Around St. Branchier we saw the fearful effects 
of the great inundation of the Valley of Bagnes 
in 1818. The height which the torrent attained is 
seen in the desolation it has left; vast blocks of 

i 



170 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



stone, which were driven and deposited there by 
the force of the waters, now strew the valley ; and 
sand and pebbles present an arid surface, where 
rich pasturages were seen before the catastrophe. 
The quantity and violence of the water suddenly 
disengaged, and the velocity of 'its descent, pre- 
sented a force which the mind may calculate, but 
cannot conceive. 

In the accounts which have been given of this 
event, the object of the writers has been merely to 
describe the catastrophe, and the extent of its 
injuries ; but in reading the account of M. Escher 
de Lenth, published in the JBib. Univ. de Geneve, 
Sci. et Arts, torn. viii. p. 291, I was most forcibly 
struck with the unparalleled heroism of the brave 
men who endeavoured to avert the evil, by open- 
ing a channel for the waters, which had, by their 
accumulation, become a source of terror to the in- 
habitants of these valleys. 

In the spring of 1818, the people of the Valley 
of Bagnes became alarmed on observing the low 
state of the waters of the Drance, at a season when 
the melting of the snows usually enlarged the tor- 
rent ; and this alarm was increased by the records 
of similar appearances before the dreadful inun- 
dation of 1595, which was then occasioned by the 
accumulation of the waters behind the debris of 
a glacier that formed a dam, which remained until 
the pressure of the water burst the dike, and it 



INUNDATION OF THE VAL DE BAGNES. 171 

rushed through the valley, leaving desolation in 
its course. 

In April 1818, some persons went up the valley 
to ascertain the cause of the deficiency of water, 
and they discovered that vast masses of the gla- 
ciers of Getroz, and avalanches of snow, had fallen 
into a narrow part of the valley, between Mont 
Pleureur and Mont Mauvoisin, and formed a dike 
of ice and snow 600 feet wide and 400 feet high, 
on a base of 3000 feet, behind which the waters of 
the Drance had accumulated, and formed a lake 
above 7000 feet long. M. Venetz, the engineer of 
the Valais, was consulted, and he immediately de- 
cided upon cutting a gallery through this barrier 
of ice, 60 feet above the level of the water at the 
time of commencing, and where the dike was 600 
feet thick. He calculated upon making a tunnel 
through this mass before the water should have 
risen 60 feet higher in the lake. On the 10th 
of May, the work was begun by gangs of fifty 
men, who relieved each other, and worked, with- 
out intermission, day and night, with inconceivable 
courage and perseverance, neither deterred by 
the daily occurring danger from the falling of 
fresh masses of the glacier, nor by the rapid in- 
crease of the water in the lake, which rose sixty- 
two feet in thirty-four days — on an average, nearly 
two feet each day ; but it once rose five feet in 
one day, and threatened each moment to burst 



172 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the dike by its increasing pressure ; or, rising in a 
more rapid proportion than the men could proceed 
with their work, render their efforts abortive, by 
rising above them. Sometimes dreadful noises 
were heard, as the pressure of the water detached 
masses of ice from the bottom, which floating, pre- 
sented so much of their bulk above the water, as 
led to the belief that some of them were seventy 
feet thick. The men persevered in their fearful 
duty without any serious accident ; and though 
suffering severely from cold and wet, and sur- 
rounded by dangers which cannot be justly de- 
scribed, by the 4th of June they had accomplished 
an opening 600 feet long ; but having begun 
their work on both sides of the dike at the same 
time, the place where they ought to have met was 
twenty feet lower on the side of the lake than 
on the other : it was fortunate that latterly the in- 
crease of perpendicular height of the water was less 
owing to the extension of its surface. They pro 
ceeded to level the highest side of the tunnel, an 
completed it just before the water reached them 
On the evening of the 13th the water bega 
to flow. At first, the opening was not larg 
enough to carry off the supplies of water whic 
the lake received, and it rose two feet above th 
tunnel; but this soon enlarged from the action o 
the water, as it melted the floor of the gallery 
and the torrent rushed through. In thirty-tw 



BURSTING OF THE DIKE. 



173 



liours the lake sunk ten feet, and during the fol- 
lowing twenty-four hours twenty feet more : in a 
few days it would have been emptied ; for the floor 
melting, and being driven off as the water escaped, 
kept itself below the level of the water within ; but 
the cataract which issued from the gallery melted, 
and broke up also a large portion of the base of 
the dike, which had served as its buttress ; its 
resistance decreased faster than the pressure of the 
lake lessened, and at four o'clock in the afternoon 
of the 16th of June the dike burst, and in half an 
hour the water escaped through the breach, and 
left the lake empty. 

The greatest accumulation of water had been 
800,000,000 of cubic feet ; the tunnel, before the 
disruption, had carried off nearly 330,000,000 
— Escher says, 270,000,000; but he neglected to 
add 60,000,000 which flowed into the lake in three 
days. In half an hour, 530,000,000 cubit feet 
of water passed through the breach, or 300,000 
feet per second ; which is five times greater in 
quantity than the waters of the Rhine at Basle, 
where it is 1300 English feet wide. In one hour 
and a half the water reached Martigny, a distance 
of eight leagues. Through the first 70,000 feet 
it passed with the velocity of thirty-three feet per 
second — four or five times faster than the most 
rapid river known ; yet it was charged with 
ice, rocks, earth, trees, houses, cattle, and men ; 



174 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



thirty-four persons were lost, four hundred cottages 
swept away, and the damage done in the two hours 
of its desolating power exceeded a million of Swiss 
livres. All the people of the valley had been cau- 
tioned against the danger of a sudden irruption ; 
yet it was fatal to so many. All the bridges in its 
course were swept away, and among them the 
bridge of Mauvoisin, which was elevated ninety 
feet above the ordinary height of the Drance. If the 
dike had remained untouched, and it could have 
endured the pressure until the lake had reached 
the level of its top, a volume of 1,700,000,000 
cubic feet of water would have been accumulated 
there, and a devastation much more fatal and ex- 
tensive must have been the consequence. From this 
greater danger the people of the valley of the 
Drance were preserved by the heroism and devotion 
of the brave men who effected the formation of the 
gallery in the dike, under the direction of M. 
Venetz. I know no instance on record of courage 
equal to this : their risk of life was not for fame 
or for riches — they had not the usual excitements 
to personal risk, in a world's applause or gazetted 
promotion, — their devoted courage was to save the 
lives and property of their fellow- men, not to 
destroy them. They steadily and heroically per- 
severed in their labours, amidst dangers such as a 
field of battle never presented, and from which 
some of the bravest brutes that ever lived would 



VALLEY OF THE DRANCE MARTIGNY. 175 

have shrunk in dismay. These truly brave Va- 
laisans deserve all honour ! 

Below St. Branchier, in the narrow valley of the 
Drance, each step exhibits evidence of the inunda- 
tion. The deep glen by which the road passes, level 
with the river, is in one place picturesque, where a 
rock on the bank is pierced, and the road carried 
through it. At the dirty village of Bouvernier, the 
appearance of goitres again distressed us ; thence 
we proceeded high above the torrent until a rather 
abrupt turn in the road opened to us a view of 
Martigny, and the old tower of La B&tie, near 
to where the Drance falls into the Rhone. We 
passed through the town of Martigny, and in about 
half an hour after, reached the inn at the village of 
La Batie, on the high route of the Simplon. It 
was dark before we arrived. On our way through 
the village, we were delighted with the singing of 
some peasants, who were seated at their doors in 
the clear beautiful evening, and sung in harmony 
some sweet airs. Whilst supper was arranging, I 
asked for the travellers' book : it was new, and a 
few names only had been written in it; I then 
inquired for the old book, in which I wrote three 
years since ; the girl told me that it had recently 
been stolen by an Englishman ! 



176 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Pisse-Vache — St. Maurice — Martyrs — Fanatics — Lake of 
Geneva — St. Gingulph — Sunday Amusements — Beautiful 
Lake Scene — Rocks of Meillerie — Convent of Rapaille — 
Frontier of Savoy and Geneva — Geneva — Journey to 
Paris — Frontier of France — Paris — Public Entry of 
Charles X. — Home. 

• 

September \9th> — This morning my friend and 
I arranged for our separation, to meet again 
at Geneva. He was desirous of passing by Lau- 
sanne, and I by St. Gingulph and Thonon, as 
I had already visited the western side of the lake. 
He hired a char-a-banc, and started. Our Scotch 
friend joined me in another char, to proceed on 
the eastern side of the lake of Geneva. We set 
out at mid-day, and soon after leaving La B&tie 
reached the famous cataract of the Pisse-Vache : 
we were not too late to enjoy the beautiful iris, 
which the sun, when the sky is clear, always points 
on the mists of the cataract until the mountains 
intercept his rays. The fall is a magnificent ob- 
ject; the quantity of its water, and the height 
from which it descends, leaves it inferior to none 
in Switzerland ; and no other can be more favour- 



PISSE-VACHE. 



177 



ably viewed. Its volume, and the force of its descent, 
have thrown up around the basin which they have 
excavated a high ridge of debris, upon which the 
observer can view it so nearly, as to be within 
the mist that arises from the gulf into which the 
waters fall. When seen so closely, the effect is 
awful ; the immense torrent appears to be poured 
out of the sky, and the roar of the waters utterly 
prevent any other sound being heard. We observed 
a butterfly fluttering upwards through the mist, and 
it passed out of our sight in safety, though it was 
as dangerous a sport to the poor insect as fluttering 
round a candle. The Pisse-Vache is a picturesque 
object when included in the views up or down the 
valley, particularly from Mieville (a village com- 
posed of a few houses near the waterfall), which 
pours out its population upon all visitors, and 
supplies a crowd of embryo mineralogists, and 
some less scientific beggars, that regularly assail 
every traveller who leaves his carriage to visit the 
Pisse-Vache. 

A short ride brought us, through a sterile part 
of the valley, to the town of St. Maurice, situated 
at the entrance of the canton of the Valais, This 
place, which is one of great antiquity, is built 
beneath the high rocks, which almost close at 
this spot, and leave only a deep gorge, through 
which the Rhone forces its way with violence be- 
neath a single arch, that spans the river from rock 

i 2 



178 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



to rock, high above the torrent. This bridge, 
which connects the Canton of the Valais with the 
Canton de Vaud, and an old castle, now in ruins, 
near St. Maurice, are attributed to Julius Caesar ; 
but a great name is sought with as much eagerness 
by an antiquary to give importance to a ruin, as 
the name of an old master is sought by pretenders 
in virtu to recommend a picture. Proofs, however, 
are extant that the bridge and castle were built by 
one of the bishops of Sion, to defend the temporal 
power which had been assumed by them in the 
Valais. There is better evidence than the name 
of the Roman Pontifex for the early historical 
importance of St. Maurice. It was known, under 
the name of Agaunum, as a Roman station, and 
numerous inscriptions mark its antiquity. The 
name of St. Maurice was derived from its abbey, 
founded in the sixth century by Sigismond, king 
of the Burgundians, in honour of St. Maurice, 
who is reported, in the legends of the church, to 
have suffered martyrdom here, with all the The- 
ban legion which he commanded, amounting to 
6,000 (!) men, in the year 392 — a story not believed 
out of the pale of the Catholic church. Near St. 
Maurice are many retreats, or hermitages, cut 
out of the face of rocks apparently inaccessible ; 
and here Theban anchorites formerly dwelt in holy 
idleness, apart from the world. 

Mr. C, my presbyterian companion, was horri- 



ST. MAURICE. 



179 



fied by an account, which we heard hawked about 
in the streets of St. Maurice, of a society of fana- 
tics in one of the Protestant cantons whose creed 
sanctioned murder by crucifixion, and to which a 
whole family had become willing victims. A pic- 
ture of this religious felo de se was exhibited, to 
increase the effect of the lie, which was thus 
allowed to be told to keep up the Catholic preju- 
dices of those who dared not doubt the truth of 
this " invention of the enemy." The follower of 
John Knox was very indignant ; but as his vehe- 
mence was delivered in an unknown tongue, the 
object of its violence was only guessed at. He 
had previously told me, that when his ire was 
roused by the lies of Catholic priests, or the 
knavery of Catholic guides and innkeepers — 
though he had a horror of profane oaths — he 
thought it was necessary to appear to be in a 
great rage; " therefore," he said, " when I am 
provoked by the loons in this country, I give it 
'em in good braid Scotch, and they think that I 
am swearing." 

On leaving St. Maurice, we proceeded along 
the Savoy side of the lake. The alluvial deposit of 
the Rhone forms, at the head of the lake, very ex- 
tensive swamps and marshes, which in some places 
yields rich pasturage. It was Sunday afternoon, 
and my companion was much scandalised, as we 
passed through the villages, particularly at Vionne, 



180 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



upon seeing the peasants enjoy themselves at various 
games, some with bowls and quoits, others in firing 
at a target : but he had soon more reasonable ground 
for displeasure, and our feelings of propriety were 
more outraged, when we arrived at St. Gingulph, 
where we proposed resting for the night. The 
inn lay on the left, a little out of the road ; but 
from a window we overlooked the route, the lake, 
and the beautiful scenery beyond it. Whilst our 
late dinner was getting ready, we saw a concourse 
of people in the road enjoying the fine evening, as 
they are generally observed to do on a Sunday in 
Catholic countries, but there was evidently some 
unusual cause of excitement; peals of laughter 
reached our ears, and there appeared to be some 
exhibition, as we could distinguish pictures hung 
out in front of a booth. The struggle was amusing 
between my companion's curiosity and love of fun, 
and his being offended at this breach of the quiet 
and sanctity of the . Sabbath ; his impatience, how- 
ever, at last made him say, " I mustna sanction by 
my presence this disorder ; but I wish you would go 
and learn the cause of the uproar." I went down, 
and found a number of pictures, all scriptural sub- 
jects, exhibited outside the booth; within, how- 
ever, was a Punch, the most vulgar of his tribe, in 
all his glory, exciting the boisterous laughter of a 
crowded and merry audience. Why the subjects 
were scriptural, or the performance so unlike the 



ROCKS OF MEILLERIE. 



181 



promise, I could not learn.. Mr. C. lost all pa- 
tience upon receiving my report, and indulged me 
with another specimen of his " good braid Scotch/' 
in which I too thought he was swearing. 

The evening was beautiful, and the scene 
over the lake at sunset enchanting. We were 
nearly opposite to Chillon, Clarens, and Vevay ; 
and the romance of the scene was increased by 
its association with the names of Byron and Jean 
Jacques Rousseau : the name of the former was 
written on the wall of our room, and, the waiter 
said, by his lordship ; but of this I do not believe 
a word — wall-chalking was not one of his pro- 
pensities, and this use of his name is now a stale 
trick. 

20tk. — The look-out upon the lake, in the 
delicious freshness and sunrise of the morning, 
was as beautiful as the sunset of last evening ; 
but the new coat of whitewash lately given to the 
castle of Chillon was sadly out of harmony. 

At St. Gingulph, a torrent divides Savoy from 
the canton of the Valais, and we entered the terri- 
tories of the King of Sardinia. We soon arrived at 
the rocks of Meillerie, on which a greater charm 
has been wrought by the realities of Napoleon than 
by the imaginings of Rousseau. There is not, nor 
does there ever appear to have been, any thing 
strikingly picturesque about the spot ; and it owes 
its interest to the tale of Julia and Saint Preux, 



182 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



though more deserving of it from the admirable 
construction of the new road, which is here carried 
on a terrace, cut out of the face of the rock, thirty 
feet above the water of the lake. At a short dis- 
tance from these rocks the greatest depth of the 
lake to which their bases sink, is found to be, 
almost perpendicularly, 1000 feet. There are 
some pleasing scenes along this part of the lake ; 
and on the opposite side, Vevay, Lausanne, and 
numerous villages, sparkle along the shore. 

After passing through Evain, a little town 
nearly opposite to Lausanne, where the lake is 
about twelve miles across, its greatest width, we 
left the borders of the lake, and passed a tongue 
of land to Thonon, a large town, the capital of the 
Chablais. About half-way across the promontory 
we traversed the Drance, a river which descends 
from the north-western side of the Buet, and before 
arriving at Thonon passed on our right the convent 
of Rapaille, an abbey built by Amadeus, the eighth 
duke of Savoy, where he established a fraternity 
of Augustine monks, and, retiring from the govern- 
ment of Savoy in 1434, became their chief. 
During the disgraceful contests for the chair of 
St. Peter in the fifteenth century, when three 
popes governed at once, Amadeus was elected one 
of these, by the re-united council of Bale, in op- 
position to Eugene IV. He assumed the keys 
of St. Peter as Felix V. and kept his court at 



BORDERS OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA. 183 

Bale, Geneva, and Lausanne. He issued bulls 
during his power, and created twenty-three cardi- 
nals, besides giving other proofs of his authority. 
Finding, however, the government of the church 
even more difficult than the government of Savoy, 
he publicly resigned the popedom in the cathedral 
of Lausanne, and, retiring to his bishopric of Ge- 
neva, died there in the year 1451. 

From Thonon we again skirted the lake to 
the village of Coudre, thence crossing another 
promontory which terminates in the lake at Yvoire, 
we entered Dovain, the first post-town from Ge- 
neva : between this town and the village of Corsi, 
we passed the frontiers of Savoy and the canton 
of Geneva. It has been often remarked, that 
the common frontier of a Catholic and Protestant 
country display, near the line of demarcation, the 
influence of the two religions on the moral cha- 
racters of the people : it is strikingly observed on 
this frontier. On the Savoy side it was the garden 
of the sluggard — on the Genevese, of the indus- 
trious ; and the appearance of the comfort and in- 
dependence of the latter people was as obvious 
as the superior cultivation of their soil. I would 
not pander to prejudice ; but it is a greater pre- 
judice to shut one's eyes to the fact. 

The scenery around Geneva is enlivened by 
the campagnas of those who sojourn on the shores 
of the lake in this delightful neighbourhood. On 



184 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



approaching the city by this road towards the 
right, across the water, the plains of Geneva were 
seen bounded by the long chain of the Jura, and 
on our left the Mont Saleve, and the valley of 
the Arve, served as bases to the grand forms of 
the Mole, the Buet, and Mont Blanc. The city 
of Geneva is more beautiful from this approach 
than from any other. The fine road on which we 
proceeded was the foreground to the lake — the 
lake to the city ; and this was surrounded by its 
apparently vast garden, studded with villas, and 
the whole bounded by lofty mountains. We en- 
tered Geneva by the Porte de Rive, and I soon 
found myself in my old quarters at the Ecu de 
Geneve. 

2lst. — My friend did not arrive from Lausanne 
yesterday. I have received letters which make 
me anxious to return to England ; but as we had 
divided our last five Napoleons, except a bill on 
Herries and Co., which he proposed cashing at 
Lausanne, and dividing with me when we met 
again at Geneva, I was almost pennyless. On 
inquiry, I learnt that only one place remained 
in the Paris diligence for to-morrow morning, 
and that another could not be had for three 
days. I had the good fortune to meet a friend 
who offered me his purse. I have secured that 
place, and I shall start to-morrow morning at four 
o'clock. 



ROUTE TO PARIS. 



185 



26th. — I reached Paris last evening, after a 
long journey of four days and three nights. The 
second night was very fatiguing ; this passed off, 
however, and before I reached Paris I felt no 
more tired than on the first six hours of my 
journey. We breakfasted on the first day at St. 
Cergue, on the Jura, whence the view of the lake 
of Geneva and Mont Blanc is very magnificent. 
At La Rousses we arrived on the French frontier, 
and our baggage and persons underwent a severe 
search. Near the custom-house there is a fine 
view of the little lake of Rousses, the highest 
source of the waters of the Lac de Joux and the 
lake of Neufchatel, the course of the valley being 
from this elevation on the Jura to the latter 
lake. 

From La Rousses we rapidly descended to the 
little town of Morey, where our passports were 
again demanded. Ascending from Morey, we 
continued travelling through the night in the 
mountainous districts of the Jura. We supped at 
St. Laurent ; and at the next post, Maison-Neuve, 
we were turned out at midnight to submit again 
to an examination of baggage and person at a 
station of douaniers ; thence we passed through 
Campagnole, and at daylight looked out from the 
hills above Poligny on the boundless plains of 
France. We reached Dole about twelve o'clock, 
where we had to wait for the diligence from 



186 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Besangon, which takes the passengers by the 
Geneva diligence from Dole to Paris. We started 
again about two o'clock, and reached Dijon at 
eight in the evening of the 23d. From Dijon I 
had a pleasant travelling companion in a medical 
student going to Paris : he was a bit of a philoso- 
pher, but his knowledge of books was no match 
for our conducteur's knowledge of the world ; he 
had served twelve years as a soldier of Napo- 
leon, and, moreover, sung delightfully ; and when- 
ever he failed in an argument, he finished in a 
song. If his spirits were not exhaustless, they 
at least lasted to Paris, and enabled me to pass 
through this uninteresting part of France without 
ennui. 

27th. — Charles Dix has made his entree as king 
into Paris to-day, and I joined the world in a peep 
at the cortege : the weather was wretched, and mine 
made one of ten thousand umbrellas which were 
paraded by the expectants in the Boulevards. I 
waited for royalty until I was thoroughly tired. 
Not a book or print-stall was open to calm one's 
impatience, and two hours passed away after my 
arrival in the Boulevards Italiens, before the dis- 
charge of one hundred pieces of artillery announced 
that his majesty had mounted his horse. Tired 
with standing, and thinking it unwise to remain 
ankle-deep in mud any longer, I got a place on 
a sort of temporary stage, for which they had 



ENTREE OF CHARLES X. 



187 



asked three francs, but as the price fell with the 
rain, I was a welcome customer at one. The 
discharge of the cannon put tout le monde on the 
qui vive ; but it was still nearly an hour before a 
line of trumpeters appeared, followed by regiments 
of lancers, cuirassiers, and body-guards, twelve 
deep. The Dukes of Bourbon, Orleans, and An- 
gouleme, followed, with their establishments and 
staffs, then the King, with the marshals and great 
officers of state. The spectacle, in its way, was 
certainly very imposing. All were on horseback 
except the Duchesses of Angouleme, Berri, and 
Orleans, who followed in mourning coaches, each 
drawn by eight horses. Then followed the char- 
bonniers, millers, and other tagrag and bobtail, 
privileged to form part of the show; and the 
national guards brought up the rear of a pro- 
cession which was one hour in passing me. I 
regretted the unfavourable weather ; but it was 
consolatory to see the justice of Heaven, in equally 
drenching the king and the coal-heavers. It might 
have been a lesson of humility to the loftiest, and 
of submission to its decrees, to all. The procession 
moved on to the cathedral of Notre Dame. I did 
not wait for its return ; my impatience to get to 
England occupied my heart, and the eyes had no 
chance with such a competitor to detain me dur- 
ing a repetition of the mummery. I shall return 



188 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



by the first conveyance, delighted with my trip, 
and leaving for future opportunity the examination 
of such other routes in the Alps as I am desirous 
of exploring for the objects which led to this 
excursion. 



JOURNAL 



OF 



AN EXCURSION 



COTTIAN, PENNINE, RHETIAN, LEPONTIAN, 
AND BERNESE ALPS : 

INCLUDING 1 HE 

PASSES OF THE MONT CENIS, THE MONT CERVIN, 
THE MONT MORO, THE SPLUGEN, THE ST. BERNARDIN, 
THE ST. GOTHARD, THE BRUNIG, THE GRIMSEL, 
THE GRIES, AND THE SIMPLON. 



JOURNAL 



OF 

AN EXCURSION 

IN THE 

COTTIAN, PENNINE, RHETIAN, LEPONTIAN, 
AND BERNESE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XII. , 

Departure — Boulogne — Paris — Forest of Fontainebleau — 
Montargis — Gens-d'arme — Valley of the Loire — Nivers 
— Valley of the Allier — Roanne— Mont Tarare — Lyons 
— Departure for Chamberry — Voiturier — Pont Beauvoisin 
—Defile of La Caille — Les Eschelles— New Gallery— 
Old Roads — Chamberry. 

Left home alone on Friday evening, July 29th, 
1825, and on the 30th reached Boulogne, by the 
Britannia steamer. One of her engines became 
deranged on the voyage, and delayed us an hour ; 
yet, though we could only proceed with the power 
of one engine, we arrived after a passage of four 
hours and a half. 



192 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Boulogne was crowded with the waste and 
the worst of English society. I never, within two 
hours, heard and saw so much of the Ramsbottom 
family and its vulgarities. The Hotel des Londres 
was full of visitors ; I sheltered in the Hotel du 
Nord : even the name had some temptation in it 
w T ith the thermometer at 90°. 

Late at night the Hero steamer arrived from 
London with a Cockney cargo of 357 bold ad- 
venturers ; they bade defiance to douaniers, and 
stormed several hotels ; but as there were many 
more bodies arrived than beds to receive them, 
several crept into diligences, or bivouacked in the 
street. 

3lst. — Started for Paris by Abbeville and 
Beauvais. At the Hotel du Lion Noir, at the 
former place, we had, as usual at this house, a 
villanous dinner, at an exorbitant charge. Whilst 
we breakfasted at Beaumont-sur-Oise, a thief stole 
my casquette from the diligence. Arrived in Paris 
at four p.m. on the 1st of August. 

Arrangements for my journey and delays of 
office detained me there five days. For two or 
three, Paris, to those best acquainted with it, 
is always endurable. Changes occur from year 
to year ; and those who remember it at longer in- 
tervals can see some that are important enough 
to induce reflection. I especially noticed the im- 
provement in the dress and manners of the men, 



ROUTE TO LYONS BY THE BOURBONNAIS. 193 

which was so slow in rising from the period of 
sans-cullotism to that of the Restoration, that a 
respectable Frenchman was scarcely distinguished 
from the canaille, in dress, when the Bourbons re- 
turned. Now, thanks, of course, to the influence 
of woman, they bear about them the character- 
istics of smartness and comfort. Again, trifling 
as the illustration may seem, I observed, as one 
proof of the passing away of the military mania 
of the French, that there was less seen of the 
Little Hero Gout. Children are not so often 
met with, as formerly, fantastically dressed as 
soldiers — led about through the dirty streets of 
Paris, and exhibited half asleep and draggle- 
tailed, pitied by all but the dreaming and de- 
lighted parents, in whose eyes they seemed to be 
future Napoleons. 

August 6th. — Left Paris at six in the morning 
by that diligence to Lyons which passes through 
the Bourbonnais. We reached Montargis at six 
in the evening, after a dull day's journey, except 
in the ride through the forest of Fontainebleau, 
where a gloom and primitive wildness prevail 
which the traveller scarcely expects to encounter. 
The trees are of large size, and there is a savage 
and broken surface of ground seen through occa- 
sional openings from the main road, where vast 
rocks are fantastically piled and huge stones are 
strewn about. Those parts of the forest seem to 



194 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



have been thus left from the period of a great 
convulsion. In other parts, the smooth glades 
present, beneath the shade of the forest, carpeted 
avenues where fairies might revel. That portion 
of the forest which lies beyond Fontainebleau is 
the wildest ; and as the ground at this extremity 
is high above Nemours, the vast plains observed 
from it, stretching away towards the unseen Loire, 
present a boundless expanse to the eye. 

At Montargis we saw the ruins of the once 
celebrated chateau where the old court of France 
was often held, and where the queens of France, 
induced by the pretended purity of the air, or the 
real fashion of the custom, came to their accouche- 
mens; and so numerous were the royal births there, 
that the chateau acquired the name of Le Berceau 
des Enfans de France. 

Night robbed us of the first scene of the valley 
of the Loire, as it is usually observed from the hill 
before descending upon Briare, and which, under 
favourable circumstances, displays one of the most 
beautiful views on this route. 

The next morning, at ten, breakfasted at La 
Charite. On the road there a dispute had taken 
place between the conducteur of our diligence and 
the people of the last post-house at Pouilly: a 
man was sent after him to claim twenty-four 
francs, omitted to be paid to the master; but it 
appeared that the conducteur's accounts were 



VALLEY OF THE LOIRE. 



195 



clear, and the error or roguery the postmaster's. 
Two gens-d'armes passed on the road with a pri- 
soner, chained round the neck, and held by one 
of them. These men in authority were referred 
to by the complainant, and we were detained until 
they heard the evidence on both sides, when they 
decided in favour of the conducteur. 

The valley of the Loire, through which our 
route lay, is very beautiful, rich in all the produc- 
tions of soil, well inhabited, and full of life and 
bustle, from the advantages which the navigation 
of the Loire afforded. Numerous and often beau- 
tifully situated towns enrich the scenery : one of 
the most striking of these is Sancerre, seated on 
the left bank of the river, on a hill whose slopes 
are covered with vineyards, from which the most 
esteemed wine in the department is obtained. 
We passed through Nivers, the capital of the 
Nivernois, an ancient division of France, famous 
for its manufactures of iron, glass, and coarse 
drapery, and as notorious for its bad inns. At 
Nivers the road leaves the valley of the Loire, 
and ascends that of the Allier. About ten at 
night we reached Moulins, rendered interesting 
to Englishmen by Sterne's tale of " Maria." The 
second night, usually the most fatiguing of a long 
journey, carried us through a country generally 
uninteresting, until we reached the Loire again at 
Roanne the third day about ten a.m. 



196 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Soon after leaving Roanne, we began our 
ascent towards the Mont Tarare, where the scenery 
is very grand and of great extent: it rises 3000 
feet above the level of the sea. A road of ad- 
mirable construction, one of the benefits of Napo- 
leon, was carried over the Mont Tarare by Ceard, 
the engineer of the route of the Simplon. In 
passing the Tarare I was struck by the appear- 
ance of industry and comfort which every where 
presented itself : the high hills were cultivated to 
their summits, and every child was employed in 
spinning or working upon a tambour-frame. An 
old French gentleman, a fellow-traveller in the 
diligence, spoke of the independence and property 
of the farmers of the mountain ; nearly every one 
of them, he said, was living upon his own little 
estate. The fine road by which we descended to 
Tarare made the old gentleman eloquent upon 
Napoleon ; and I was struck with an observation 
of his upon one of the causes of the decline of the 
emperor's power. His marshals and generals, he 
said, were possessed of riches and raised to rank 
which could not be increased by further service ; 
they grew cautious as they grew older and as 
military ardour subsided : they deserted him to 
secure what they had gained. 

Tarare is a place of extensive manufactures 
in silk and flax. Some English capitalists have 
established themselves here, of whom the natives 



TURIN. 



197 



are very jealous : we met some of their English 
workmen on the Mont Tarare, returning by ano- 
ther diligence to England. I was ashamed of 
their boisterous conduct and violent swearing, by 
which they evidently thought they were distin- 
guishing themselves: so they w T ere — as black- 
guards. It was midnight before we reached the 
bureau at Lyons. 

10th. — Met yesterday, at the table d'hote, a 
young Scotchman going to Genoa by Turin. We 
agreed to travel together, and bargained with a 
voiturier to take us to Turin in six days for sixty- 
nine francs each, including our lodgings at the 
resting places. This morning we started at five 
o'clock. On leaving the suburbs we were sur- 
prised at our voiturier's coolly opening the door 
to let in two Savoyards, whom he had agreed to 
take to Turin, though his bargain with us was for 
our sole occupation of his carriage : this we pro- 
tested against, and ordered him to return to the 
inn, or leave his new customers on the road ; but 
the rascal made coaxing appeals to our gene- 
rosity, said it would be of service to the respect- 
able young men and himself, and it should be 
no inconvenience or cause of delay to us, if we 
would allow them to enter the voiture : it was 
too early to refer to a magistrate, and to return 
would be to lose a day — we threatened to mulct 
him of half the sum agreed upon, they were 



198 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



admitted, and we proceeded. Slept at Tour du 
Pin. 

llth. — Started at four; arrived, at eight 
o'clock, at Pont Beauvoisin, a little town on the 
Guiers Vif, a river forming part of the frontier 
boundary of France and Savoy : here the custom- 
houses are stationed. The douaniers were civil, 
and gave us no trouble ; but we were detained an 
hour for the examination of our passports, as both 
the French and Sardinian authorities were asleep 
when we arrived. 

After leaving Pont Beauovisin, our route lay 
through a rich and beautiful country, but appa- 
rently bounded by a mountain before us; a road, 
however, led up its side to the abrupt defile of La 
Caille, a ravine cut through by the Guiers, which 
foamed and forced its way far below the terrace 
by which the road is carried through this narrow 
gorge. This is the spot where J. J. Rousseau, 
in that record of his follies the " Confessions," 
says, " On his way to visit Madame de Warrens, 
at Les Charmettes, near Chamberry, he enjoyed 
the pleasure of rolling stones from the road into 
the roaring torrent below, and observed them 
bound from ledge to ledge, before they reached 
their goal in the depth and distance." We failed 
not to seek amusement in the same way. On 
looking back from the entrance to the defile 
towards France, we enjoyed a scene of exceeding 



LES ESCHELLES. 



199 



beauty. The road through the defile is wild and 
fine all the way to the village of Les Eschelles, 
where we arrived about twelve o'clock. 

After we had breakfasted, we walked on, as 
we thought, towards the grand gallery; but 
having crossed a bridge, and proceeded a little 
way towards where two roads branched off, we 
found both so villanously bad, that we suspected 
we had made some mistake : to our vexation, 
we learnt, upon inquiry, that we were again 
within the frontiers of France ; and on retracing 
our way to the bridge, we saw the douaniers 
searching those who passed, and expected the 
same treatment ; instead of which, they laughed 
at our error, and one of them walked with us a 
little way, to put us in the road to Chamberry ; 
and when he saw us preparing to reward him, 
he left us to avoid it. We walked on before 
our voiture, to examine the new gallery and road 
formed by order of Napoleon ; the old road crossed 
the valley, — the present winds round it, gradually 
ascending. The eye could trace the course of the 
new line to its termination in the gallery, the 
entrance to which, halfway up the face of the per- 
pendicular rocks, was so mere a speck, that it 
appeared incredible to us that it should be the 
celebrated road of Les Eschelles. 

On our way to the gallery, we were exposed to 
a violent storm, till we found shelter beneath one 



200 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



of the arches of the new bridges, or aqueducts, 
formed to keep the road dry. We soon reached 
what was pointed out to us from below as the en- 
trance to the new gallery, which we found to be 25 
feet high, and of the same width, and 307 metres, 
or 1000 English feet, long, — a much greater length 
than that of Gondo, in the Simplon, which is only 
182 metres. After walking through, we met an old 
soldier, a Cantonier, who lives in a hovel on the 
Savoy side of the gallery. Leaving directions to 
stop the voiture until our return, he accompanied 
us to the two old roads. On the most ancient, 
some Roman pavement still remains : he pointed 
out the entrance to the old passage, which gave 
rise to the name Les Eschelles, retained by the 
village below. The road passed through a deep 
cavern, by which travellers had to descend on 
ladders more than eighty feet ; and on appearing 
again in open day on the face of the rocks, had 
double that depth still to descend by ladders to 
get to the valley below. This passage was always 
dangerous to the unskilful, and often rendered im- 
passable by the snow and torrents which rushed 
through the cavern : it is now blocked up, and 
has not been employed since 1670, when Charles 
Emmanuel, second duke of Savoy, as we are in- 
formed by a monument upon the road which he 
made, " forced open the rocks, levelled the moun- 
tains, caused their menacing heights to roll at his 



NEW GALLERY. 



201 



feet, and, superior to the Romans, who, though 
superior to so many others, had never attempted 
this great work, had conquered Nature herself by 
the opening of this triumphal way, which assured 
for ever to his people on the opposite sides of this 
gorge the means of communication between them." 
The work was certainly one of extraordinary diffi- 
culty, and much was accomplished even in form- 
ing, in such a situation, a narrow, steep, and dif- 
ficult road. It remained, however, for the en- 
gineers of Buonaparte to pierce a gallery 307 
metres through the mountain, and leave the old 
road, and its bombastic record, to be visited only 
as a curiosity. The new road was left unfinished 
by Buonaparte ; but, to the credit of the late King 
of Sardinia, it was completed and open to travellers 
in the year 1817. 

Upon the entrance of the French army into 
Italy, the old road was strongly contested at its 
entrance, and innumerable marks are yet seen 
upon the rocks and the monument, which were 
pointed out to us by our guide, of the balls ex- 
changed by the contending parties. 

It is a curious fact, that at one time, when the 
monument, with its inscription, was in a worse state 
of dilapidation than it is at present, it was repaired 
by order of Buonaparte. To commemorate its 
restoration, the following memorial was added 
upon a tablet below the old inscription : — 

k 2 



202 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



HOC xMERITUM 
OPTIMI SABAUDI^E DUCIS MONUMENTUM 
AUSPICE BONAPARTE 
PRIMCJM FRANCORUM CONSULE REST AURAT CJM 
ANNO REIPUBLICE GALLICS XI. (1803.) 

Not a word of this inscription can now be 
traced. 

The opposite ends of the gallery present very 
different scenes : on looking towards France, the 
view is beautiful of the valley of Les Eschelles ; 
towards Italy, it is a ravine, rocky and sterile, 
called the Valley of Couz, which continues some 
way, and then expands into the plain of Cham- 
berry. The route, in many places, reminded me 
of the parish cross-roads in England twenty years 
since, its condition is so bad. Near Chamberry, 
however, it is undergoing great improvement, and 
about two miles of what promises to be straight 
and excellent is constructing. We arrived at the 
capital of Savoy early enough to visit some plea- 
sant promenades in the Boulevards. Slept at 
Chamberry. 



203 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Montmelian — Aiguebelle — Valley of the Arc — St. Jean de 
Maurienne — Modane — Lanslebourg — Hotel Royale — A 
Dog and a Duel — Ascent of the Mont Cenis — Game — 
Descent to Suza — Plain of St. Nicholas — Short Cut — 
Suza — Valley of the Doire — Monastery of St. Michael — 
Turin — Bankers — St. Anthony's Miracles — Road to Ca- 
luso — Ivrea — Val d'Aosta — Chatillon — Baths of St. Vin- 
cent — Bear-Hunt. 

August I2tk. — Soon after leaving the capital 
of Savoy, we saw the Alps which divide this part 
of the states of Sardinia from the department of 
the High Alps, in France, and the scenery became 
more interesting, especially at Montmelian, which 
is finely situated on the Isere : from its old fort, 
the view down the vale of Gresivaudan is very 
beautiful. At Montmelian we drank some ex- 
cellent wine, for which its vineyards are cele- 
brated ; and, crossing the Isere, continued to 
ascend its left bank for some time ; but we soon 
drove through a mere lane, without scenery and 
without interest : filth and its attendants, goitres 
and cretins, often met the eye ; and the road 
continued dull until we arrived at the neat and 
prettily situated town of Aiguebelle, where we 



204 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



took oar dejeune a la fourchette. I was struck 
with the prodigious size of a remise at Aiguebelle ; 
it measured 1 30 feet by 80. The necessity for build- 
ing it so large led us to augur favourably of the 
state of commerce on this route. 

Continuing to ascend on the banks of the Arc 
to La Chambre, we met many carts laden with 
roasted iron ore ; lead, also, is raised in the valley. 
The peasants were generally engaged in getting in 
their scanty harvest. The soil is rarely dressed, 
and its miserable produce as seldom cut, — it is 
pulled up ; and I should think, with our English 
notions of the value of labour, not worth the time 
bestowed upon it, except in some of the flats of 
the valley, where the ground lies above the deso- 
lating effects of the winter torrents ; yet every 
nook into which a handful of grain could be 
thrown had been thus appropriated. At La 
Chambre, it was necessary to enter the inn 
through the kitchen, which effectually destroyed 
the appetite raised by the day's journey ; in our 
transit, however, we bore away a thousand fleas, 
who were, doubtless, as greatly rejoiced as our- 
selves at their escape. The sunset before our 
arrival at La Chambre presented one of those 
splendid scenes sometimes witnessed in the Alps, 
when their summits reflect all the glorious hues 
which the sun imparts to them before he sinks 
below the horizon. 



VALLEY OF THE ARC. 



205 



13^. — Started at four, and soon arrived at St. 
Jean de Maurienne, the chief place in the Valley 
of the Arc. Here nothing remains to interest the 
traveller : the time has, happily, passed away when 
the tyranny of its Comtes and the violence of re- 
ligious disputation were sources of misery to its 
inhabitants. The doctrines of Calvin once excited 
great troubles here; now the bears and the ava- 
lanches are the only disturbers of the tranquillity 
of these valleys. A fine defile conducted us to 
St. Michael. I mounted to the site of an old tower ; 
the scene below, of a little basin in the Valley of 
the Arc, was very picturesque. After taking re- 
freshment we again skirted the river to Modane ; 
the road was dull, and unlike the near approaches 
to the Alps which I had witnessed in other passes. 
At Modane our voiturier insisted upon resting, 
instead of at Lanslebourg, which he had originally 
agreed to do : if he had any unworthy motive in 
this, we endeavoured to defeat it ; Mr. M'F. and I 
walked on to Lanslebourg, fourteen miles, though 
it is stated in the French post-book to be four 
posts. The road from Modane commences by 
skirting the Mont Bramante; rising by a steep 
ascent to Fort Lesseillon, beneath a dense forest of 
pines ; it was here, that, when Walpole was going 
to .Italy, his little dog was seized by a wolf, and 
borne away up the mountain. The scene around 
is of a very wild character. The fort, which is now 



206 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



repairing, is of great strength, and admirably situ- 
ated for the protection of the pass ; a horrid defile, 
many hundreds of feet deep, through which the 
Arc forces its way, divides the fort from the road. 
It is not too wide for the construction of a bridge ; 
for a single arch spans the gulf, in a terrific situa- 
tion, and bears, as usual in such places, the name 
of the Great Pontifex — II Diavolo. A bomb-proof 
building: is constructing; on the side of the defile 
opposite to the fort. The situation is extremely 
savage, commanding, and picturesque. Thence 
the road descends to the village of Bramante, dis- 
tant about three miles, and continues in the valley 
without any interest in its scenery. We were 
much annoyed, on arriving at Termignon, at find- 
ing that it was not Lanslebourg : our inquiries 
about the distance were answered in the usual un- 
satisfactory way, that is, the further we walked, 
the further, we were told, we still had to go. 
We arrived, however, at Lanslebourg about nine 
o'clock ; and the Hotel Royale, established by a 
courier who had married an Englishwoman some 
years since, offered to us more cleanliness and 
comfort than we had witnessed since we left home. 
The hostess died last year. 

In these valleys, the early hour of retirement 
placed us in the difficult situation of fighting our 
way to the inn-door against a magnificent Savoyard 
dog, who barked and howled defiance to our at- 



A DOG AND A DUEL. 



207 



tempts, for which he stood some chance of being 
shot. At length, however, a man, hearing our 
threats, popped his head out of a window, and 
entreated our forbearance. We were soon ad- 
mitted, and refreshments amply provided. I had 
heard a story from a cousin, Mr. N., of a duel 
fought here, in which he was a principal, about a 
dog ; and, upon inquiry, learnt that this was the 
same animal. A party of four young officers, 
returning from Genoa en voiture, stopped here. 
Mr. N. had brought with him a beautiful little 
pet dog, which had been presented to him by a 
lady on his leaving Genoa. Struck by the appear- 
ance of the fine dog at the inn, one of the officers 
bought it ; he was fairly informed that the dog 
had been already sold to an Englishman, who 
had taken it so far as Lyons, where the dog 
escaped, and returned (200 miles) to Lanslebourg. 
The officer who made the purchase intended to 
fasten it in the same place with the little dog ; this 
Mr. N. objected to, when his brother-officer made 
some vulgar and offensive allusions to the lady 
at Genoa from whom the pet had been received. 
An apology was demanded, and refused — swords 
were instantly drawn ; they fought in the salle-a- 
manger. N. wounded and disarmed his antago- 
nist ; an apology for the reflections upon the lady 
followed ; and the party returned to England, 
punished by having the painful duty to perform all 



208 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 

the way of nursing their wounded companion. The 
dog, however, was taken and carried safely as far 
as Paris, where he again escaped, as they sus- 
pected by the contrivance of the voiturier, and 
he returned from Paris — 500 miles ! I was 
now informed that the dog had been sold a third 
time to an Englishman, and again, in spite of 
precautions having been given, he had returned 
to Lanslebourg — I am almost afraid to repeat 
their statement at the inn — from the sea-coast, 
Calais!! 

14th. — We had much reason to congratulate 
ourselves that we had walked on to Lanslebourg, 
not only in the accommodation and civility we had 
received at the inn, but in our gaining four hours 
upon the time of our voiture, for we ascended 
the mountain whilst the whole scene was clear, 
and observed, after ascending by the tourniquets 
of the new road, the village which we had left in 
the morning lying so far beneath our feet, and 
almost lost in the magnitude of surrounding ob- 
jects, so that it could not be distinguished unless 
sought ; the caserne at Lanslebourg, built by Buo- 
naparte, was just perceived, though it would con- 
tain 3000 men, with excellent accommodation. 

We observed an iris of a remarkably flattened, 
elliptical form, spanning the great glacier of the 
-Roche Chevriere, above Termignon. This pre- 
cursor of rain induced us to hasten on, and wander 



PLAIN ON THE CENIS. 



209 



from the high road in search of a short cut ; but, 
losing our way, we made it a long one ere we 
arrived at the inn and post-house on the Mont 
Cenis : this was before the clouds, which were de- 
scending, obscured any of the objects from us. I 
was struck with the extent and beautiful situation 
of the lake on the plain, which abounds in delicious 
trout ; though we could only procure one, the monks 
at the hospice, to whom the fish belong, not having 
more in store ; but the deficiency was amply 
amended by a brace of grouse, which my Scotch 
companion discovered, by instinct, for they were 
concealed, it being three days earlier than the taking 
of game here was legal. The grouse disappeared 
before our appetites were spoiled, and we suc- 
ceeded in adding a blackcock ; the whole of which 
— tell it not in Gath ! — was expended before 
our mountain hunger was appeased. Our host 
modestly demanded fourteen francs from us for 
our dejeune; we remonstrated against such an 
overcharge ; his justification was, " Messieurs, 
vous avez mange trois faisans." We admitted 
this, but said we had not eaten any thing else 
except one small trout; " Eh bien, messieurs ; 
mais vous avez mange trois faisans. " We got off, 
however, and satisfied our host, by paying ten 
francs. Our passports were signed on the moun- 
tain, at the station of the carabineers. 

The magnificent carriage-road which now exists 



210 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



over the Mont Cenis, is one of those benefits be- 
stowed by Napoleon upon mankind which will 
long survive all the injuries inflicted by his ambi- 
tion. It was begun in 1803, and completed in 
1810, at an expense of 300,000Z. ; and so imme- 
diate were its benefits, that, in the first year of its 
being opened, 2911 carriages, 14,037 carts and 
wagons, and 37,255 horses and mules, traversed 
the mountain. It was only in the summer, from 
May to October, that the works could be carried 
on. During that time the scenes must have been 
very animated ; sometimes, within a short dis- 
tance, 2000 men were employed — most of them 
barracked on the shores of the lake, 6300 feet 
above the level of the sea. At sunset a last salute 
announced the close of the labours of the day ; 
and during half an hour, the reports of blasting 
the rocks reverberated in the mountains : a little 
after, the camp was illuminated by the fires of the 
workmen preparing their evening repast. 

Before we left the plain of the Cenis, the rain 
fell heavily; but as we saw it did not extend far 
below into the valleys, we decided to walk on to 
Suza, and before we arrived at the barriere of 
Piemont the rain had ceased to us. This barriere 
is in the middle of a small basin, called the plain of 
St. Nicolas, around which, on the right, the road 
formerly skirted the mountain ; but it was so sub- 
ject to avalanches, that, though well constructed 



PLAIN ON THE CENIS. 



211 



and much the shortest, it is now avoided, and a 
bridge is even broken down to prevent the tempta- 
tion of a shorter road leading into danger. The 
frequent falls of snow and debris had made the 
rocks and sides of the mountain smooth, and the 
accidents were consequently more frequent and 
certain. To avoid this great danger, a straight 
road is raised above the plain about twelve feet, 
and so distant from either side of the valley that 
the avalanches cannot extend to the present road ; 
whilst the descent from the Grand Croix, as the 
Piemont extremity of the plain of Mont Cenis is 
called, is by a zig-zag road, perfectly safe, cut in 
the mountain-side. From the little plain of St. 
Nicolas the road descends gradually the whole 
way to Susa. No valise, at the extremity of its 
valley leading to Susa, is seen far below on the 
left, and shortly after, at a turn in the road, Susa 
itself is observed deep and distant in the valley : 
but the route affords little of the picturesque ; and, 
either as presenting scenes in nature or a work of 
art, sinks into insignificance before the route of 
the Simplon. 

The grandest feature in the scenery of this 
descent is the magnificent mountain mass of the 
Roche Melon, rising abruptly from the valley 
nearly 10,000 feet. On its summit was a little 
chapel, formerly a place of annual pilgrimage, 
where there was an image of the Virgin, held in 



212 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



great veneration. This image has now been re- 
moved to Susa, for the carved block had not the 
power of protecting its devotees from many and 
dreadful accidents which happened in the ascent 
and descent over paths frightfully dangerous, and 
in an air difficult, from its rarity, to breathe. 
The rector of Mont Cenis told Saussure, " Que 
ceux qui tomboient la etoient tellement brises, que 
l'oreille etoit la plus grande piece de leurs corps 
qui demeurait dans son entier !" This worship in 
high 'places has sunk with the image to Susa ; and 
low, now, is this " Diana of the Ephesians !" 

A little after leaving the post-house of La Mo- 
laret, we were advised by some peasant girls to 
take a shorter road through the village of Venous, 
which we saw beneath us ; it would make, they 
said, an hour's difference in our journey. We 
followed their advice, and repented of it ; for the 
descent was above a league entirely over rocks 
and blocks of stone, so excessively fatiguing, that 
we have felt ourselves knocked up by going down, 
and we had the mortification to see our voiture 
above us, travelling steadily on the road we had left, 
and it arrived a quarter of an hour before us at 
Susa, where we found as much discomfort and in- 
civility as weary travellers might have feared at the 
Hotel de la Poste. I rambled out, and saw only 
the triumphal arch of Augustus : if the town have 
other antiquities, I am at present ignorant of them. 



MONASTERY OF ST. MICHAEL. 213 

This arch led to the route by the Mont Genevre, 
over the Cottian Alps, a pass of much higher an- 
tiquity than that of the Mont Cenis, which it does 
not appear was even known to the Romans. 

15th. — We started at four in the morning for 
Turin. Soon after we left Susa we crossed the 
Cenisella, a stream which descends from the Cenis 
and flows into the Doire. At Busolino this river 
is passed ; and it flows thence on the left of the 
road until it reaches the Po below Turin. 

Among the feudal remains which the traveller 
passes in the valley of the Doire, below Susa, are 
those of the picturesque chateau of St. Jorio ; but 
the most extraordinary ruins are those of the 
monastery of St. Michel, on the Monte Pirchi- 
riano, above St. Ambrogio. The founder was 
Hugues de Decousu, who went to Rome and ob- 
tained absolution, for some crime which he had 
committed, from the Pope. Hugues, in his grati- 
tude, promised to build a church on his return, 
which he did on the Monte Pirchiriano, and con- 
secrated it to St. Michel. Privileges were granted 
to the new establishment by Pope Silvester, and 
it soon became, under the rules of St. Benoit, so 
celebrated for its splendour and power, that its 
abbots boasted of having founded and restored 
one hundred and forty churches and rich abbeys 
in France and Italy. 

Saussure and Millin both describe their visits 



214 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



to the ruins of the monastery, and the latter gives 
an interesting sketch of its history, but without 
mentioning the period of its foundation. The 
difficulty of erecting such an edifice on the moun- 
tain must have been very great, as it requires an 
hour and a half to attain its site. When attained, 
the mass of ruins appear enormous : a part of 
these is entered by a large flight of steps. There 
are many ancient tombs of the monks ; some of 
them are open, and the bodies can be seen in a 
dry state, like the mummies of the Guanches ; 
they are spoken of as having been objects of 
curiosity and reverence for many ages. Some 
Gothic epitaphs remain; one of these marks the 
tomb of Rodolphe of Montebello, who died in 
1359, and another of Sebastian Serrai, a cardinal, 
who was abbot of this monastery in 1577: there 
is also an ancient tomb without an inscription, 
said to be that of Comte Thomas, a bastard of the 
house of Savoy, who lived in 1233, and who is 
recorded as a great benefactor to this abbey. 

The view from the monastery is described, by 
those who have visited it, as magnificent, extend- 
ing, from the vast ramparts of the Cenis, through 
the lower valley of the Doire, which winds be- 
neath the monastery, and enriches a scene that 
extends to Turin, the Monte Superga, and the ex- 
tensive plains which, beyond these, melt into the 
horizon. 



TURIN. 



215 



On our way to Turin we passed by Rivoli, the 
summer residence of the court of Sardinia ; soon 
after, a high wind raised the dust, and obscured 
occasionally every object around us. We reached 
Turin at five o'clock. The douaniers were civil 
on our entrance — perhaps they were too near 
head-quarters to be otherwise ; but I have observed 
them to be usually in extremes — very obliging or 
very troublesome. We took warm baths on our 
arrival, and rested at the Pension Suisse. 

16th— By attending myself to my passport, I 
got all the necessary signatures to it to-day; 
though, by an error of the French secretary, I was 
obliged to receive two of them twice. I agreed 
with a man for a cabriolet to take me to Chatillon 
in two days for twenty-six francs, and four francs 
buono mano, if he conducted himself well. In 
passing the Musee, which is undergoing repair, I 
was struck with an Egyptian statue, more beauti- 
ful and perfect than any other Egyptian sculpture 
that I remember to have seen. 

I was put to great inconvenience by the inatten- 
tion of Freres Nigra and fils, bankers of Turin, to 
whom Herries' bills are addressed. When I first 
called, after repeated ringing and knocking, a 
dirty, squinting boy opened a door, and said there 
was no person within : upon hearing what I wanted, 
he said I must call again at seven o'clock, as the 
Signor was taking his siesta. I went at seven, and 



216 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



saw two ladies, who said M. Nigra was gone to 
the theatre ; but assured me, if I would call at nine 
I should see him. I stated my business, and com- 
plained strongly of the injury which this delay 
might produce, and the urgent necessity which 
there was for my seeing M. Nigra, as I had made 
arrangements for leaving Turin, and by his inat- 
tention I had lost a day. They repeated that I 
should find him at home at nine. At nine I went 
again, and the same persons told me he was gone 
into the country, and that I must call again at 
nine the next morning ! # 

This is the second day of some authorised idle- 
ness, called a festa. I was amused by seeing the 
Race of Atalanta in tapestry, hung outside the 
church of the SS. Trinita, in the Contrada di 
Doro Grossa ; and in the Piazza di Sto. Carlo a 
peasant had a wax figure of St. Anthony of Padua, 
holding the infant Christ in his arms, in a sort of 
show-box : within the folding doors were repre- 
sentations of St. Anthony's miracles. The show- 
man was selling coronse, crosses, lives of St. 
Anthony, and portraits of the saint, printed on 

* I wrote from Turin to Messrs. Herries and Co., complain- 
ing of the conduct of their correspondent : this was instantly 
attended to by them ; and on my return to England they 
shewed me a letter from Messrs. Nigra, apologising for the 
inconvenience they had put me to, and promising better 
behaviour. 



FESTA. 



217 



small pieces of cloth, with tape strings, to be worn 
as amulets. His hurdy-gurdy drew a crowd, and 
his wares — sold at a sous or two each — were first 
touched against the wax figure, to receive the 
virtue of curing diseases. With each, a prayer was 
muttered ; and in this way the vagabond was driv- 
ing a great business, displaying a gravity in the 
farce he was acting, which even Liston might 
have envied. 

17th, — I parted early from my pleasant travel- 
ling companion, Mr. W. M'Farlane, who left Turin 
at the same hour for Genoa. He with great kind- 
ness offered me his purse, to remedy part of the 
inconvenience to which I had been subjected by 
Freres Nigra's neglect of business for the siesta, 
the theatre, and the campagna ; and, to prevent 
further delay, I accepted his aid. My conductor 
was one of those accomplished Piemontese who 
are acquainted with their own horrid jargon, and 
know no other language. After repeated efforts, 
I fairly gave up all hope of passing any part of 
the two days we were to be together in conversa- 
tion, — it was as unlike French or Italian as Eng- 
lish is to either. We breakfasted at Caluso, where 
I was served with dirty broth, and a dish of 
green capsicums, which, when I declined, a Pie- 
montese near me devoured ; the wine and bread, 
however, were excellent. This part of the country 
has a bad character. About a fortnight since, a 



218 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



poor fellow, who had been to Turin to receive 
some money, was assailed by three assassins, who 
robbed him, and then shot him in the thigh ; he 
died five days after, leaving a large family : he 
described the brigands, but they have not yet been 
taken. The roads between Milan and Turin are 
said to be infested by deserters and criminals. The 
line of the Alps, seen on the approach to Ivrea, 
from the Viso to beyond Mont Rosa, presented a 
beautiful appearance ; their forms and colours, 
under the effect of the rising sun, were magnifi- 
cent. Before I arrived at Caluso, I had a fine 
view of Mont Cervin and Mont Rosa. 

On leaving Caluso, my guide drove with all 
the confidence of a perfect knowledge of his 
route — but direct towards Milan. I was sure 
that he was wrong ; my remonstrances, however, 
were not understood. At the end of about two 
miles, I met some persons, of whom I inquired 
the route ; and my able conductor was obliged 
to right about, through Caluso, and take the 
true route to Ivrea. The country is rich in 
vines, Indian corn, and hemp. We arrived at 
Ivrea about twelve o'clock. This city, which I 
visited in my first journey, is finely situated at the 
entrance of the Val d'Aosta, and abounds with 
picturesque objects, — the banks of the Doire, its 
bridges, and the feudal-looking round towers of 
the prison. The scene from an old fort near the 



VAL D'AOSTA. 



219 



road leading to Aosta is very fine; the prisons 
are in the fore-ground, and, beyond the city, 
the Doire is seen winding into the rich plains 
of the Po. Two remarkable ridges of land run 
out on either side of the Val d'Aosta, extending 
several miles, their sides clothed with vineyards : 
it was over the northern ridge that I passed last 
year, in going to Biella. Ivrea appears to have 
much commercial bustle, at least for a town in 
Piemont : it is a great depot for the iron manu- 
factured in the Val d'Aosta. Slept at the Ecu de 
France. 

I8tk. — It w T as five before we started. In two 
hours we reached St. Martin's ; passed its single 
arch thrown over the deep ravine of the Lesa ; and 
thence proceeded, through Donas and Ford Bard, 
to Verrex, where, as I was poisoned by wine last 
year, I was cautious enough to avoid drinking any 
now. About a league and a half above Verrex we 
reached that' part of the road which is, perhaps, 
the finest in the Val d'Aosta — the deep ravine that 
divides Mont Jovet from the rock upon which 
stands the chateau of St. Germains ; its situation 
is strikingly grand, as it is seen on approaching it 
up the valley. Soon after passing this defile, we 
crossed the Pont des Sarrasins, and passed through 
St. Vincent, famous for its baths ; and at two o'clock 
arrived at Chatillon, chez Jean Guarcla, my last 
year's guide through Piemont : I had promised to 



220 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



return, and he appeared pleased that I had kept 
my word. In the evening, Jean drove me to the 
baths of St. Vincent, about half a mile out of the 
village. The view from a walk cut around the 
hill near the baths, is one of the most beautiful in 
the Val d'Aosta. 

Whilst looking upon the mountain across the 
valley, Jean pointed out to me a spot where a 
bear was killed in February last. Several cows 
had been destroyed by this animal, and many of 
the inhabitants had sought to take or shoot him 
in ambush, but without success. At length a 
farmer suggested, that across the bear's track, 
which had been discovered, a line should be so 
placed, that, if touched, it should discharge eight 
or ten guns, with their muzzles directed upon the 
spot. The place was watched day after day, and 
listeners were constantly alive to the expected dis- 
charge of the fire-arms. More than a week passed 
away, when one evening the feu dejoie was heard 
in the mountain. Great numbers of the inhabit- 
ants ascended to the spot where their scheme had 
triumphed : the bear had received the contents of 
the guns, and, mortally wounded, had rolled down 
the wooded side of the mountain. Traced by his 
blood, he was found in the agonies of death ; but 
it still required caution and courage to despatch 
him, when his enormous carcass was borne in 
triumph to Chatillon : his weight was ascertained 



BEAR-HUNT. 



to be 25 roups, or 625 lbs. English. Besides the 
destruction of their enemy, the people enjoyed the 
feast which he afforded, and received the pub- 
lic reward from the state, or commune, of 200 
francs, the sum offered for the head of a bear. 
50 francs are paid for the head of a wolf, and 100 
for the head of a she-wolf. 

Jean informed me, that ten days since, the 
pastor of St. Vincent threw himself over the Pont 
des Sarrasins, of which the height is terrific, in 
despair, because the Bishop of Aosta did not think 
so well of him as he had thought of himself. 



222 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Val Tournanche — Ascent to Briel — Chalets of Mont Jumont 
— Mountain Accommodation — Detention at the Chalets 
by a Snow-storm — Ascent of Mont Cervin — Prepose — 
Smugglers — Glaciers — Summit — Scene from the Glaciers 
— Learned Guide — Tourmente — Hasty Descent — Disrup- 
tion of the Glaciers — Arrival at the Cure's of Zermatt — 
Illness — English Travellers — Descent of the Valley of 
St. Nicolas to Visp. 

August \9th. — It was eight o'clock before I 
could start from Chatillon, owing to the difficulty 
which I had in procuring, at an earlier hour, a 
horse to carry me to Val Tournanche. Jean Guarda 
accompanied me. The road skirts for several 
miles one side of the valley, through which rushes 
the river that descends from Mont Cervin. The 
first part of our route was sheltered from the sun, 
for its direction lay through a magnificent forest of 
chestnuts ; the mountains on each side rise towering 
over the glen to an enormous height. The fear- 
ful effects of their debris in the winter is not only 
marked by the enormous blocks of serpentine which 
have fallen, but by the crosses erected to point 
out the spot upon which some poor traveller had 



VAL TOURNANCHE. 



223 



become the victim of the disruption. Numerous 
aqueducts, believed by the natives to have been 
Roman works, are seen on the sides of the valley, 
built on arches; they convey water for irrigation. 
The route delightfully varies the whole way to the 
village of Val Tournanche, which is composed of 
nearly twenty farms and cottages, studding the 
side of the hill. This is the station of the Pie- 
mont douaniers, and here Stanfield and I encoun- 
tered the rascals who had behaved so ill to us 
last year ; # they, however, were removed, and the 
present brigadier, as he is called, and his men, 
behaved with great civility. 

At Val Tournanche I procured a guide, Jean 
Paptiste Pension, to conduct me across the Cervin 
to Zermatt, better known on the Piemontese side 
by the name of Praborgne. After taking refresh- 
ment at a sort of inn, my guide and I started on 
our ascent to Briel. Nothing could exceed the 
wildness of the savage glen through which the 
torrent of the Tournanche, which descends from 
Mont Cervin, rushes with horrid violence, some- 
times passing so far beneath the traveller's feet 
that it is only heard, or, if seen in its deep obscu- 
rity, its white foam only is distinguished ; the path, 
if it deserves the name, sometimes skirting a pre- 
cipice, of which the base cannot be seen. Here 



* See page 49. 



224 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the torrent immerses into darkness ; and there it 
has no wilder character than that of a common 
mountain-torrent. On entering the little plain of 
Briel the air became very cold : the mountaineers 
were getting in their scanty hay harvest. We de- 
termined, in order to shorten to-morrow's route, 
to pass through this summer hamlet to the highest 
chalets on the ascent of Mont Jumont. The spot 
was very dreary, surrounded by immense glaciers 
and peaks of mountains ; the vast pyramid of the 
Cervin, wreathed in clouds, was the most striking 
feature in the scene. In this, one of the grandest of 
nature's amphitheatres, with mountains covered 
with snows and glaciers, in unchanged whiteness 
of ages, for its walls, the mind was overwhelmed : 
it was not its insignificance, for it could contem- 
plate this scene ; but it felt subdued by the vast- 
ness of the objects contemplated. We passed the 
little chapel at Briel, where service is performed, 
at a festa held once a year only, by the cure of 
Val Tournanche. Soon after, we ascended from 
the plain, and reached the chalets of Mont Ju- 
mont. My guide took me to one belonging to 
a poor woman, who remained, with her sister and 
two children, in these the highest pasturages in 
Europe, to make cheese and butter during their 
short summer of six weeks. I had my choice of 
sleeping in the same hovel with the woman and 
her children, or removing to a chalet belonging 



MOUNTAIN ACCOMMODATION. 225 

to another family. The smoke in her's made 
me decide upon the latter, where a rug was 
thrown upon a heap of hay, which promised a 
comfortable lodging. The man to whom this 
chalet belonged was employed in scalding off the 
hair, and otherwise cleaning, three marmots, 
which he had shot during the day. The place was 
extremely filthy ; but fatigue asks no apology for 
dirty lodgings ; I threw myself, wrapt in my cloak, 
upon my bed, and saw the stars through the holes 
in the roof. I was soon assailed by thousands of 
fleas, &c. ; to sleep was impossible. Below me, in 
a sort of cellar, were a dozen cows enjoying the 
pleasures of the Hole of Calcutta, whose lowing 
and tinkling of bells, added to nameless smells, 
would have defied Hercules to sleep after his 
labours. Something worse, however, to an Alpine 
traveller was occurring without than any annoy- 
ance within. The weather had evidently changed ; 
it lightened, and I felt the rain dropping and 
splashing through the ill - tiled roof upon my 
place — not of rest, but of torment. It was totally 
dark, and I lay many hours before I saw daylight 
pour in through the holes which so readily ad- 
mitted the rain. It seemed to have ceased ; but 
upon crawling to the door, I found that it had 
only changed for the worse : one vast scene of 
snow surrounded me, and it continued to fall fast * 
and thick. I returned to my hay, to conjure up 
l2 



226 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



a thousand miseries from the delay, which was 
certain, in such a place. About six o'clock my 
guide entered, and said it would be impossible to 
attempt the passage, and that our only chance was 
to ascend with some mules and their drivers, who 
had gone down to Chatillon for wine, that on their 
return the mules might form a path on the fresh 
snow which had fallen on the glaciers. 

20th. — I returned to my poor woman's hut, 
and regretted that I had left it, as I should at 
least have been drier there than in the one — I 
cannot say that I either slept or sheltered in. Fo 
my breakfast, I drank some excellent milk, and ate 
a portion of a small loaf which I had brought 
with me from Val Tournanche, Mid-day arrived 
with little alteration of weather : the snow had 
changed to rain only. I occasionally crawled ou 
of an opening, nicknamed a door, four feet high, 
which I was always obliged to re-enter backwards 
because it opened against the slope of the mountain, 
The snow was now rapidly melting in the valley 
but the mountains had had their wigs newly trim- 
med, as if the dressing were to serve a week. The 
guide again made his appearance, to say that the 
mules remained at Val Tournanche, and that to- 
morrow being Sunday they would not be allowed 
to travel ; they would therefore remain till Mon- 
day, and I must rest contented, if possible, at least 
another night. The day passed drearily. I helped 



THE CHALET. 



227 



to boil the polenta — milk and water into which 
the flour of Indian corn was stirred, and the whole 
seasoned with salt. If I had not seen it prepared, 
I should have eaten some ; but at the time my dis- 
gust exceeded my appetite. It was very cold ; yet 
we were obliged to economise the fuel, as we had 
very little within the chalet ; and the small stock 
of rhododendron, the only shrub at this elevation 
that supplies the fire, was soaked by the weather, 
which came on too suddenly, and at this early 
season too unexpectedly, to have induced the pre- 
caution of keeping a larger stock within. My 
poor and kind hostess frequently came to me, to 
know what I would have to eat, as if she had a 
choice of food. She procured for me during the day 
three eggs ; except these, she had nothing to give 
but milk and curds, and bread baked once a-year, 
at Michaelmas ; and baking day was nearly come 
round again. It was miserably cold : stamping my 
feet and slapping my hands were the only means 
of warming them, for the fire was too scanty. The 
melted snow ran into the hut, and formed pools. 
To pass the time, I assisted in butter -making, 
rocking the youngest child to sleep, and writing 
letters to England : my eyes smarted with the 
smoke of the wet shrub-wood, which I tried in 
vain to blow into a blaze. By way of a little 
variety, I was indulged with the squalls and dis- 
putations of the noisy children. 



228 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



I prepared for my second night's rest by pla- 
cing the high end of a form, with only two legs 
remaining, against another large stool, which was 
generally used as a table. The lower end of my 
couch came as near the ashes of the hearth as 
with safety it could be put. Upon these a bundle 
of hay was thrown, and made a comfortable bed 
enough. Here I should have slept well 3 but a 
boisterous and overjoyed assembly of fleas pre- 
vented it : those of this hovel having, as I am con- 
ceited enough to fancy, given a grand entertain- 
ment, in honour of my coming, to the fleas of the 
other chalet ; and I verily believe not one refused 
the invitation. I of course was servec^ ip ; and, to 
judge of what remained of me, I think the rascals 
had gout enough to relish my being half smoked. 

Let not decorum be shocked ! I slept in the 
same den with the mistress, her sister, and the 
children. Of mine host I have seen nothing : he 
is at work in the valleys. The mistress and the 
eldest child slept in a crib in one corner — her 
sister and the youngest in another, and I about ten 
feet off, on my bed of dry delicious mountain-hay. 

2lst. — At six in the morning my guide came 
in to say, that he would descend to Val Tournanche 
to the first mass, and return before eleven with 
another man to assist in crossing the mountain, 
as the snow was deep, and he would not venture 
alone; that waiting for the mules might detain 



ASCENT OF MONT CERVIN. 



229 



me two or three days longer, and we had better 
proceed. The mountains were almost clear of 
clouds, and appearances were favourable. A little 
before twelve, he returned with another guide, 
Pere Antoine Maynot, when, after a draught of 
cream and a little brandy, I took leave of my 
good-tempered hostess and her dirty children, and 
began the ascent of Mont Cervin. At the end 
of about two hours we approached the glaciers. 
We were met, and accompanied part of the way, 
by two douaniers, who, from the station at Val 
Tournanche, go in turn to remain in a hovel very 
elevated, which commands the descent from the 
pass. One of them I had met two days since at 
Val Tournanche ; he had walked from their station 
to offer me crampons for my boots in crossing the 
glaciers. How different from the conduct of the 
same class of men last year ! The duty which they 
have to perform on this frontier, as the Swiss 
are active smugglers, must be very severe ; even 
now the snow lay deep at their station. There is 
little contraband at present carried on compared to 
what there was during Buonaparte's blockade of 
England ; then the temptation to smuggle was very 
great. My guide pointed out a terrific pass through 
which, to avoid the prepose, he and four others 
had carried bales of British muslins consigned from 
an English house to a Swiss agent at Visp, who 
had engaged these men, at four louis each, to 



230 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



convey a load of such goods to Verrex. A cross 
was pointed out to me as marking the spot where 
an active smuggler, who had long evaded the 
douaniers, was shot. 

We proceeded, over a wet, loose, and fatiguing 
path, to a great elevation, whence the surrounding 
scene of snow, scathed peaks, and sterility, was 
most sublime. When we had attained the extreme 
height of this loose and dangerous ascent, with 
clouds, glaciers, and even mountains, beneath our 
feet, we entered upon the fresh snow over the 
glaciers. We were the first to pass after the 
storm, and we sunk knee-deep in the snow at 
every step. One of my guides walked a-head, 
searching with a long baton for crevices ; we 
slipped occasionally into small ones concealed by 
the snow, and sunk to the middle, but we scrambled 
out, sometimes with, sometimes without assistance. 
The most fatiguing part of a walk over deep snow 
arises from the jerking consolidation beneath the 
feet, particularly in the ascent : where the leg was 
first placed in walking, it sunk to a certain depth ; 
in advancing the body on that leg, it sunk deeper, 
with a violent and fatiguing jerk. The sun, when 
he shone upon us, poured down with excessive 
fervency. During the entire pass, I did not once 
feel it cold, though sometimes we were so entirely 
enveloped in clouds that we could not distinguish 
the small sticks which had been put up to point 



SUMMIT OF THE PASS. 



231 



out dangerous situations, or to direct the passengers 
to straight lines from point to point. When we 
encountered two such sticks, it indicated a bridge 
of ice across a crevice, which required great cau- 
tion. We were above five hours on the glaciers, 
of which the ascent employed about three and a 
half. On attaining the summit, I was disappointed 
in finding little trace of the chalet of Saussure, or 
of the spot always, as it was described, free from 
snow. There is a vast accumulation of rocks on 
the summit, with the sides too steep to retain the 
snow; it is probable, also, that the unfavourable 
circumstances under which I passed it might have 
been an exception to its general appearance and 
character. The changes of weather at this great 
height, above 11,000 English feet, are incon- 
ceivably sudden ; at one time, when the sun shone 
out, we observed the vast mountains of Mont 
Rosa, and their enormous glaciers — the valleys 
beneath our feet sinking into indistinctness— the 
Bernese Alps, beyond the Valais, and, more 
striking than any other object, the beautiful pyra- 
mid of the Mont Cervin, springing 5000 feet from 
its bed of glaciers — all burst upon the eye at once 
with unimaginable effect and grandeur. In five 
minutes a change came o'er the scene ; and all 
was concealed — the spot upon which we stood 
appeared a white circle, its outline blending at a 



232 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



short distance with the clouds — and we were alone, 
without an object visible beyond the circle. 

I had felt severely the extreme rarity of the air 
in ascending, seldom advancing twenty steps with- 
out resting ; the angle of ascent, too, in some places 
was considerable. Once, when I was gasping, the 
guide roused me by, " Courage, monsieur! per- 
sonne reste ici sans mourant." I exerted myself, 
stopping frequently; but when the highest point 
was attained, felt perfectly free in breathing. I 
observed a great number of flies on the snow, even 
at the greatest elevation, where they must have 
sunk in their high and long flight, for some were 
torpid. Many were curious in form, and beautiful 
in colour. I saw, also, on the snow and confines 
of the glaciers, large flights of snow-birds. I could 
not help thinking of Dr. Johnson's comment upon 
the crow in the Highlands. 

On attaining the summit, we prepared, in high 
spirits, to take some bread and wine and eggs, 
which Pension the guide had wisely brought from 
Val Tournanche : the new guide Maynot began an 
amusing account of the passage of Hannibal by 
the Mont Cervin. The remains of an old redoubt, 
built by the Valaisans, which it was very difficult 
to trace, my learned guide said was raised by the 
Carthaginian general, and quoted Tite Live and 
Poly be as authority. But before I could receive 



DESCENT FROM THE PASS OF THE CERVIN. 233 

either this mental or our corporeal food, a sudden 
change in the weather occurred : the snow began 
to fall thickly, and whirl in alarming eddies round 
us. My guides hastily packed up, and, dreading 
the tourmente, started down the Swiss side of the 
mountain with great rapidity, sinking deeply in 
the snow at each step, but without much fatigue, 
and affording enjoyment enough to raise shouts of 
laughter as one or the other rolled over. I had put 
on a mask of gauze, with which 1 had provided my- 
self in ascending : I was glad to employ it against 
the painful reflection from the snow : it was equally 
useful to protect the face from the fine hard par- 
ticles of snow during the tourmente. In descend- 
ing, an enormous rent in the ice was shewn to me ; 
the consequence of the breaking of the glaciers last 
year, when I was prevented from proceeding this 
way. A merchant and his horse sunk for ever 
in it in crossing, and, say the guides, with 10,000 
francs in his possession. We soon descended into 
fine weather, and, from the bottom of the glacier, 
after having been five hours upon it, I enjoyed a 
splendid view of the Cervin — it is from the Swiss 
side that it is seen to the greatest advantage. I 
made a sketch at a fortunate moment, when it 
was perfectly clear ; I had not removed fifty steps 
from the spot where I drew it, when the mountain 
appeared to wrap itself in clouds with such suddei* 



234 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



concealment, that even my guide was struck with 
it, and called my attention to the fact. 

The descent was long, difficult, and tedious, to 
Zermatt : we passed some granges higher than 
this village, and left above it in the valley the 
commune of Zmutt. At length we reached the 
side of the torrent which led to the village, and 
arrived at the hospitable and comfortable house 
of the cure at nine o'clock. I met there three 
German students on an excursion to the mountain 
to collect plants and catch butterflies. Some refresh- 
ment was soon provided ; and as I was excessively 
fatigued, the cure, with a kindness which I long 
refused, insisted upon my occupying his own bed. 

22d. — J awoke fevered and ill. At an early 
hour three Englishmen called upon me to know 
the state of the glaciers, as they intended to cross 
to the Val d'Aosta ; they prepared to start im- 
mediately upon my report. I asked if either was 
a medical man ; the youngest of the party an- 
swered for the rest, No ; but as he never travelled 
without medicine, he had at my service calomel, 
rhubarb, castor oil, magnesia, salts, &c. ; it was 
impossible not to be amused even whilst obliged. 
I think no one but a member of the Bull family 
would thus have borne about Apothecaries' Hall 
with him. But I must not record an ungrateful 
joke ; his calomel restored me to health. 



ZERMATT. 



235 



I sketched the Cervin from the cure's window, 
and remained at his house for the day. A chubby 
boy, a member of the family, was scandalously 
like the cure, and his buxom housekeeper laughed 
whilst she owned him as her son. I learnt that 
within the bishoprick of Sion, the vow of celibacy, 
if not more frequently broken than in other 
Catholic communities, is not so often wrapt in the 
I cloak of hypocrisy. The jokes of the Germans 
who had been quizzing the housekeeper, had aided 
the suspicious likeness of the boy in betraying the 
secret. 

23c?. — I arose weak, but free from fever. It is 
rarely that severe illness overtakes a traveller on 
his journey — either his general health is im- 
proved by the air and exercise to which he is 
exposed, or his mind has greater energies ; but I 
have often felt, that, at home, and with the facility 
of access to a doctor, such symptoms as would 
have insured a week's confinement have been 
shaken off here in an hour's walk. I inquired 
for a horse ; not one remained in the commune : 
the English party had engaged the only horse 
left ; the others were sent, as I knew, for wine into 
Piemont. I decided upon walking quietly to 
St. Nicolas, about twelve miles down the valley, 
and procured the assistance of a young man to 
carry my baggage. When I left the cure he 
would not take more than five francs for all the 



236 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



trouble I had occasioned. He was a kind and 
hospitable man, and his handmaiden as good 
tempered a creature as ever kept a house in 
order ; to me, who had suffered from fatigue, they 
were all kindness and attention. We descended 
the valley, and in two hours reached Tesch, where 
the English party had tried to rest, but where 
my apothecary told me he had devoted a night 
au chasse de punaises. 

I found the name of the next village to be 
Randor, and not In-der-wild, as given in Kellar's 
map of Switzerland, and the next below Herr- 
buggen ; he writes it Fluss. These places on the 
borders have frequently two names, the German 
and the Piemontese, and are sometimes productive 
of confusion ; but neither of those in Kellar are 
recognised. Near Herrbuggen a fine glacier de- 
scends from the sides of the Schallhorn. The 
snowy peaks of this mountain are usually pointed 
out to the traveller towards the Simplon, when at 
Visp in the Valais, as Mont Rosa. 

In about four hours from Zermatt we arrived 
at the house of the cure of St. Nicolas, where I 
obtained refreshment : his mule, the only one in 
the village, was lent ; and my next chance was to 
walk on to St aid en, two hours. I felt so perfectly 
recovered, as not to hesitate about doing this. I 
met some persons of Visp who spoke French ; and 
upon my mentioning my intention of passing the 



VISP. 



237 



Moro, they recommended to me, as a guide, a man 
who was present. He was a native of Saas, who 
knew the route perfectly. I engaged him to take 
my luggage on to yisp, and to conduct me over 
the Moro to Vogona. His patois was a sad jargon, 
but we contrived to understand each other. 

When I reached Stalden I was again disap- 
pointed. No horse was to be had ; and my im- 
patience to receive letters at Visp determined me 
to walk on. Though I felt weak when I left 
Zermatt in the morning, my long walk, instead 
of increasing, had removed my weakness, and I 
added two hours more to my day's labour. 

At Visp I heard from home : it is only he who 
knows the value of the word that can feel the 
heart's refreshment from this source, when he is 
rambling amidst scenes where the difficulty and 
uncertainty of communication is so great. I was 
recommended to the Cheval Blanc as the best inn : 
it was dirty and extravagant, and the ill-condi- 
tioned landlady, upon my expressing a wish to 
retire soon, and before she thought I had eaten 
or drank enough, received my complaint of fatigue 
after illness, with a oui I not to be easily forgotten : 
an evil spirit must have prompted the word, and 
brandy tuned the organ of utterance ! 



238 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Valley of Saas — Ravines — Records of Accidents — Aballa — 
Plain and Village of Saas— Conduct of the Cure — Twilight 
on Mont Fee — Allmengal — Moraine — Lake and Chalets 
of Destal — Passes of the Moro — Ancient Road — Glaciers- 
Bear — Summit — Splendid View of Mont Rosa — Descent 
to Macugnaga — Inn — Catholic Relics. 

Aug. 24th. — After having made some sketches, 
and procured a mule to take me to the foot of 
the Moro pass, I left Visp in the morning, about 
half-past eight o'clock, and reached Stalden again 
in two hours ; we rested there, and at the inn 
took some bread and cheese and bad wine : the 
daughter of the host was very beautiful, but, un- 
fortunately, lame. We crossed the torrent of the 
Visp into the defile, rather than the valley, of 
Saas, by a bridge which, thrown across the rivers 
that descend from Mont Moro and Mont Cervin, 
spans here, at their confluence, a deep and rug* 
ged gorge, through which the united waters rush 
with violence, to join the Rhone at Visp. I en- 
deavoured, but without success, to get some point 
of view where I could at once see the bridge 



VALLEY OF SAAS. 



239 



and the water, but this was impossible ; though 
the rocks on either side were much above the 
bridge, the ravine was too narrow, and the banks 
above the rocks too steep and dangerous, to allow 
an approach near enough. I obtained, however, 
a slight sketch from the Saas road. My guide 
was rather a puzzler ; his Italian, as he called it, 
was more difficult to understand than his Ger- 
man ; we got on, however, very well . He was a 
good-tempered fellow, with a perpetual grin and 
singular laugh ; and as he was now in his native 
valley, almost all the persons whom we met he 
was acquainted with, and to all he had to tell, and 
with evident joy on his part, how he had caught 
an Englander. 

The valley of Saas is the narrowest that I have 
yet passed in Switzerland ; the sides were exces- 
sively steep, and terminated in a deep, narrow 
bed, through which the river tore its foaming way. 
I had to cross it three times, and over bridges 
so ill constructed, with only a few pines laid across, 
that to me, who had been rather inured to such 
places, the sensation of crossing on a mule was 
horrible; the planks moved loosely under the 
animal's feet, and the whole fabric shook as if an 
infant could have overthrown it. Some bridges in 
the valley are at fearful heights above the torrent : 
one of these, which I sketched, about two miles 
above Stalden, serves for communication between 



240 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 

some cottages and the opposite mountain. Its 
height above the water is from 200 to 300 feet ; 
and the cottages are so placed on the cliff, that a 
line dropt from them would hang far over the 
torrent on the other side. I have no where else 
seen such rugged wildness ; the huge old larches 
which overhung the deep gorges of the river were 
of immense size, and their giant limb and roots, 
thrown about in a savage grandeur, was quite in 
accordance with the surrounding scenery. The 
ravine slopes steeply to the torrent from Stalden 
to Saas, except at the little plain of Aballa ; and 
the small quantities of barley raised, is grown in 
such difficult situations, that one wonders that 
the labour is not an obstacle to any attempt to 
cultivate it. 

I have no where seen so many indications of 
loss of life from accidents as in this valley. The 
usual evidence is a cross erected on the fatal spot, 
th. t passers-by may pray for the soul of the per- 
son who was killed there. # Of these, I sometimes 
saw three, four, and even five, clustered together, 
either marking an accident fatal to many at the 
same time, or the recurrence of falling rocks in 
the same dangerous place, and a succession of 
victims. Between Stalden and Saas there are 

* In Italy the crosses are placed from the same religious 
motive, but the cause has generally been assassinations. 



SAAS. 



241 



more than 150 of these crosses; some bore the 
date of eighty or ninety years since, others of the 
last winter. The initials of the unfortunate, and 
the date of the accident, were the only records. 
I observed a very fine fall of a torrent, which de- 
scends from the mountains that divide the valley 
of Saas from that of Visp ; and about two hours 
distant from Stalden I arrived at the first little 
plain in the valley, in which were the village and 
church of Aballa. Soon again the valley became 
a defile, and the road, or path, was traced with 
difficulty among the masses of rock and debris of 
the mountains. At the end of two hours more 
I entered the fertile plain of Saas ; which is about 
three quarters of a mile in length, and a quarter 
of a mile wide, surrounded by glaciers and moun- 
tains ; the most striking of these is Mont Fee, 
whose bright snows surmount the dark pines which 
clothe its lowest slopes on the western side of the 
plain. I was informed by my guide that there 
is a village at the foot of the glaciers of Mont Fee, 
where nearly a hundred persons reside all the year, 
their habitations almost touching the ice. 

The plain of Saas is so strikingly contrasted with 
the savage wildness and sterility of the route that 
leads to it, and the enormous mountain masses 
which surround it, that one hails its connexion 
with Mont Fee as the fairy valley. It contains 
two or three villages : the first which we passed 

M 



242 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



through is Tamata ; but this is so closely united 
with Saas as scarcely to be distinguished from it. 

My guide was a native of a village on the other 
side of the stream, to which he sent the owner of 
the mule, who had accompanied us from Visp, 
to announce his return to his family, whilst he 
conducted me to the cure ; but every body knew 
my guide, and all inquired who and what I was, 
where he had found me, and where he was to 
conduct me. I grew impatient of these repeated 
delays, and pressed him to proceed to the house 
of the cure: it was a day of festa — some ar- 
rangement between the Virgin and the priests 
to waste the time of the people. Here I found 
a party at cards. The cure arose, and, with 
cold civility — I rather ought to say incivility — 
told me his house was not an auberge. I said 
I was perfectly aware of it, and also that there was 
not one in his village ; if there had been, I should 
not have troubled him, but that circumstance 
gave me a greater claim to his courtesy ; that his 
parishioner, my guide, had, as a matter of course, 
conducted me to his house; and it was not the 
first time I had sought and received from the cure 
of a sequestered place that assistance which as a 
weary traveller I required. He at last shewed me 
to a chamber, and prepared two or three dishes of 
macaroni, haricot, and other maigre, of which I 
partook heartily. He then became more inquisi- 



CURE OF SAAS. 243 

tive and communicative, inquired my object in the 
journey, and gave me some information upon the 
route. He said that after four hours it would be 
absolutely necessary to walk to Macugnaga ; that 
he had not himself crossed the Mont Moro ; but 
he was in constant communication with those 
who had. He repeated the circumstance of the 
road having been formerly the route of the courier 
from Piemont, though it was now in so ruined a 
condition : he had heard his father and mother 
speak of their having rode on mules into both the 
Val Anzasca and the Val Antrona ; and that many 
of the peasants of Saas still went by the latter 
valley to the fairs and markets of Domo d'Ossola. 
He recommended my starting as early as three 
o'clock to-morrow morning, and promised me 
coffee before I set out, and wine, &c. for the 
journey. 

25th. — Jan Petro Andermatt, the guide, 
knocked punctually at three at my door ; and on 
descending from my chamber, the cure opened 
the door of his sleeping-room to receive my remu- 
neration. I entered ; his chere amie (housekeeper) 
was sitting half-dressed on her bed, which, except 
when in use, fitted in under that of the cure's 
like a drawer. Here, like Ruth at the feet of 
Boaz, but with more impure association, it was 
evident the cure's handmaiden slept. This mode 
of forming additional sleeping-places is common 



244 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 

in the Valais. The cure had promised me coffee, 
&c. in the morning before starting, and wine for 
refreshment in the mountains, but nothing was 
provided ; and when I offered to pay him three or 
four francs, he pocketed an ecu neuf — six francs, 
which I gave him, and bowed me out without 
giving me any change. I felt annoyed at his dis- 
courtesy and selfishness, so contrasted with the 
conduct of the worthy old cure of Zermatt. 

Just as we left the little plain of Saas, twilight 
began to brighten the summits of Mont Fee, and 
the snowy ridges of the western mountains which 
enclosed the plain above a forest of pines. The effect 
was singularly beautiful ; the peculiar tone of twi- 
light relieved the sharp forms from a dark sky, 
which was still studded with stars, and below, the 
faint light, subsiding to the pines, failed yet to dispel 
the darkness of the valley. The path soon after- 
wards ascended by some cottages, over a road as 
rugged and difficult as that which I passed yesterday. 
In about an hour we entered a plain, and passed the 
village of Micra — the scenes became more sterile, 
the larches were stunted, and the evidence of con- 
siderable elevation was seen in a scanty vegetation. 
Another hour brought us to Allmengal, rather a 
large village, and where the path which conducts 
to the Val Antrona branches off to the left. A 
little above, on the right, is another pass across 
the mountains to Zermatt; it presented a terrific 



LAKE OF DESTAL. 



245 



appearance, over snows and glaciers, but Jan told 
me that it was without danger, and that it was not 
necessary to be upon the ice more than an hour 
and a half. Neither of these routes are indicated 
in Kellar ; whilst those from Eringerthal and Ein- 
fishthal, between the Valais and Piemont, have 
no existence but in his map. 

Nearly an hour from Allmengal, over stones, 
rocks, and brushwood of rhododendron, brought 
us to what appeared to be a termination of the 
valley, a large glacier, from beneath which the tor- 
rent of the Saas issued: so completely was our path 
closed, that we saw no means of further progress ; 
but the guide directed our ascent, on the left, on 
the moraine — the rocks and loose stones which 
skirted the ice; and after a short but very fa- 
tiguing effort we entered upon the glacier. I 
was disposed to leave the mule below, but Jan 
told me I should again find it useful ; we there- 
fore drove it on : but a difficulty arose in re- 
gaining the earth again ; the edges of the glacier 
were so broken at the end of the path upon it, 
that both the men were obliged to roll rocks and 
stones to enable the mule to leave the ice safely ; 
yet after this I was surprised to see a tolerably 
well-constructed road, which led to a lake larger 
than that of Combal in the Allee Blanche, but 
presenting a much more sterile appearance. This 



246 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



lake is formed by the glaciers, over which we had 
climbed, that closed the valley, acting as a dam. 
Near the borders of the lake were two or three 
miserable chalets. On our way we skirted this 
desolate little lake of Mont Mor, or Destal ; yet 
some goatherds had fixed their summer huts on its 
bord ers, for the sake of the scanty but rich herbage 
found upon the few patches among the stones, in 
the spaces left by the glaciers which swept down 
to the borders of the lake. Enormous masses of 
rock had fallen from the mountains, and added 
to the wildness of the scene, of which some of the 
peaks of the Cima de Jazi and Mont Rosa formed 
the background. 

Still higher, however, than the lake are fine 
pasturages ; for in half an hour from its borders we 
reached the chalets of Destal, where 200 cows, be- 
sides goats, are fed. The finding of such a commu- 
nity in a spot so elevated, was a cause for surprise 
and pleasure : if I had been aware of the existence 
of such a place, I should have preferred resting 
there, and have exerted myself to attain it last night, 
rather than have slept at Saas ; and I could easily 
have accomplished this, for I did not leave Visp 
yesterday till nearly nine o'clock, and I rested two 
hours during the heat of the day at Stalden. 
Compared, too, with my accommodations at Mont 
Jumont, this place afforded more comforts, and 



PASSES OF THE MORO. 



247 



the persons and habits of the peasantry on the 
Swiss side were much cleaner. We rested an hour, 
and obtained excellent milk, cheese, and eggs. 

Above Destal, I left the discovery of a path to 
the mule, for I could not perceive any ; and after 
an hour and a half we attained the foot of the 
glaciers of the Moro, where it was necessary to 
dismount, and send back the mule to Visp. 

The appearance of this alpine barrier defied 
conjecture upon the situation or direction of the 
path by which it was to be traversed. From the 
spot on which I dismounted, one might almost 
perceive the summit of the glaciers which form 
the passes into Piemont. All the maps and de- 
scriptions that I have seen, mention the pass of 
the Moro as leading only to Macugnaga : the 
truth is, that" there are two passes on the Moro — 
one of these leads to Campiole, in the Val An- 
zasca, below the gorge of Pesterana; the other, 
which turns to the right on attaining the summit, 
was called by the guide the Pass of Macugnaga, 
from its conducting to that place. This leads also 
to the base of the Mont Rosa. 

The scene was more sterile than any that I re- 
membered in the Alps. The rhododendron, the last 
shrub which the traveller sees in his ascent of these 
regions, and the scanty but sweet herbage sought 
for the cows and goats by the peasants in the 
establishment of their chalets, had long been left 



248 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



below us, and only a few Alpine ranunculi, gen- 
tians, and other mountain flowers, such as are 
found in the highest regions, could be seen in fis- 
sures of the rocks and in moist situations. Here we 
were surrounded by the debris of the mountains, 
brought down by storms and the disintegrating 
work of ages. These formed the sides of the valley ; 
its end, which seemed abruptly to defy our pro- 
gress,was a vast glacier descending from the eternal 
snows of the surrounding mountains. Amidst these 
it was impossible to conjecture the route, but my 
guide told me that it lay to the right, and pointed 
to what appeared to be the perpendicular face of a 
vast precipice of granite. It was impossible to be- 
lieve that a path could be found there ; with some 
difficulty, however, I climbed over the rocks and 
stones as Jan directed me, until something like 
a path appeared, but which was interrupted by a 
steep ridge of snow descending at least 500 feet 
to the base of the glaciers. I was ahead of the 
guide, and looked with some horror upon this 
danger ; for if I had slipped I should have slid to 
the bottom with more velocity than a flying adven- 
turer descends from a tower by a rope. I cautiously 
dug foot-holes, and then walked safely over this 
slope, which was not more than thirty feet across. 
I waited to see how Jan would get over, laden as 
he was with my baggage. To shew his contempt 
for my caution and foot-holes, he tucked his baton 



ANCIENT ROAD. 



249 



under his arm, and walked across it with as much 
carelessness and confidence as if it had been on 
the route of the Simplon. 

Soon after passing this ridge, I found the old 
road, by which the courier used anciently to 
pass to and from Piemont : it was really, for a 
mule-road, well constructed with paved stones ; its 
width varied from five or six to eight or ten feet. 
This road could not be observed from below. A 
quarter of an hour's ascent brought us to the 
glaciers, over which it was necessary to pass for 
about twenty minutes. A little snow had recently 
fallen, not sufficient to fill up some foot-steps left 
by the peasants, who in the summer frequently 
pass this way. Thousands of curious flies lay 
torpid or dead on the snow. Near the summit we 
saw the recent track, in the fresh snow, in the 
direction of the Moro pass, of an enormous bear. 
My fears, perhaps, made me think that it could 
not have been much less in size than the large 
bear killed opposite to Chatillon. # Jan looked 
around rather aghast; but finding that I had 
pistols three inches long (!), recovered his self-pos- 
session. We rested a few minutes upon some 
bare rocks, on the summit, 9100 feet above the 
level of the sea, where a rude cross has been 
placed, which is now nearly decayed. The view 



* See page 220. 
M 2 



250 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 

looking towards the chalets and lake of Destal, 
and the valley of Saas, was most desolate. On 
winding round by the rocks on the summit, Mont 
Rosa burst upon me with a vastness and splen- 
dour to which I cannot do justice by description. 
Clouds were forming near and beneath me, and 
in a few minutes the scene of enchantment closed, 
except when the clouds rolled away, and some 
portions appeared through them with a magic of 
effect that has left an impression upon my mind 
with which every other Alpine recollection suffers 
in comparison. 

The morning is usually, in these alpine regions, 
the clearest part of the day ; and two or three, or 
even one hour earlier than I attained the summit 
of the pass, the scene of Mont Rosa would have 
been quite clear. The chances, then, are in favour 
of a traveller having a more advantageous passage 
by sleeping at Destal, rather than by resting at 
Saas ; and he w r ould not be obliged to the sulky 
cure for accommodations, little better, and not half 
so civilly and cheerfully bestowed. His ill-humour 
could not have arisen from the frequent claims 
upon his hospitality ; for he told me that he had 
not seen an Englishman in the valley for three 
years. 

The descent, though on the southern side, 
continued on the glaciers much longer, from the 
summit, than the ascent. We overtook a man 



MACUGNAGA. 



251 



just as we left the glaciers, with whom I joined 
company. In a quarter of an hour we had de- 
scended to firm rocks and earth, and so far too 
beneath the clouds which enveloped the Macug- 
naga pass, that the magnificent and beautiful 
Mont Rosa was presented in its entire extent 
from the Cima de Jazi to the Pic Blanc, and from 
its bright and loftiest peaks, to its lowest gla- 
ciers and the source of the Anza, which ran into 
the plain and valley of Macugnaga. The effect of 
this glorious scene can never be forgotten, and 
alone is worth a journey from England. 

The descent was very fatiguing. The village 
in the valley of Macugnaga seemed beneath me, 
not more than an hour's distance ; but it was four 
hours of difficult descent from the summit before I 
reached it. There are no traces of the old road 
on the southern side. Half-way down I obtained 
some milk at a chalet, and at Macugnaga found 
a tolerable inn, where my reception was very dif- 
ferent from Saussure's, described in his Voyages 
dans les Alpes. A deformed but very civil host, 
who spoke French well, having, as I learnt, spent 
some time at Lyons as cuisinier, welcomed me — a 
fatigued and hungry traveller. His " Voulez-vous 
des viandes, Monsieur?" was the most pleasant 
inquiry that had been addressed to my appetite for 
many a day ; but it was sadly deceived upon the 
appearance of what my civil little jEsop called 



252 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



cotelettes de veau. The veal, thinner than Vauxhall 
ham, was buried in the panee ; he must have studied 
the cuisine under L'Avare. I contrived, however, 
from several mysterious messes, to destroy a good 
appetite, and retired early to a room decorated with 
prints : one represented St. Joachim and St. Anna 
worshipping the Virgin as a child (their own) in 
the clouds ; but there were more monstrous relics 
of Catholic adoration than this — bits of bone, 
teeth, skin, and hair, of half the saints of the calen- 
dar, were framed like butterflies. These relics, it 
would seem, had taken the fleas under their pro- 
tection, as St. Anthony did the fishes ; for I was 
welcomed by myriads which blackened my legs. 
I found, however, that the poor wretches were 
anti-Malthusians. The supply of food was not 
equal to their numbers, and they were too weak 
to get from the floor to the bed, which was a high 
one. By a little manoeuvring I succeeded in 
avoiding the colonisation of my resting-place. 



253 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Pesterana — Professore Fantonetti — Visit to the Gold Mines — 
Gorge of Pesterana — Ceppo Morelli — Scenery of the 
Val Anzasca — Fine Race of Inhabitants — Costume and 
Beauty of the Women — Vanzone — Ponte Grande — Beau- 
tiful Road through the Valley — Castiglione — View into Val 
d'Ossola — Pie de Muliera — Superintendent of the Gold 
Mines — Situation of the ancient Ictymuli — Vogogna — In- 
stance of Italian gratitude — Happy Valley. 

August 26th. — The morning was beautiful. 
After sketching the fine view of Mont Rosa from 
the door of the auberge, and collecting from mine 
host some information for my day's journey, 
and a confirmation of my guide's topography in 
the names of the places which we had passed, 
we left the retired little plain of Macugnaga. 
The valley soon narrowed to a deep glen ; the 
descent was rapid, and less than an hour brought 
ns to the gold mines of Pesterana. There is an 
El Dorado sound in this, which excites high ex- 
pectations ; but there is no more appearance of it 
than in the pavement of St. Paul's Churchyard. 
The mines are explored to find this 6 c world's chief 
mischief," combined, in very small proportions, in 
sulphate of iron; a kilogramme of ore yielding, by 



254 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALFS. 



the process of amalgamation, an average of only 
six grammes, the richest ore only yielding ten. 
My landlord at Macugnaga had furnished me with 
the name of Professore Fantonetti, as the superin- 
tendent of the mines, and as the possessor of a col- 
lection of specimens of the minerals of the valley. 

I called upon this gentleman at Pesterana, 
and received the most courteous and obliging at- 
tentions from him. He sent a servant with me to 
the mills on the Anza, where the ore is crushed, and 
to the mines ; and directed the miners to give me 
assistance and information. The first was readily 
offered ; but the last was useless, as I could not 
understand a syllable of their jargon. I entered 
the mine about 300 yards, by an adit of slight 
ascent : here a shaft was sunk about 60 feet, and 
I saw several miners working on the lower vein of 
the ore. The quantity raised is not very consider- 
able. Women are chiefly employed in pounding 
and picking the ore, whence it passes to the mills 
of granite, in which it is ground and prepared for 
amalgamation : the final process is in the hands 
of M. Fantonetti alone. On my return to that 
gentleman's house, he pressed me to take refresh- 
ment, and gave me some specimens of the ore of 
the mines, and two works which he had written : 
one of them on the mines of these valleys, in answer 
to a work of Rossini's, of Turin. 

I soon after crossed the Anza, over an alpine 



VALLEYS OF PESTERANA AND ANZASCA, 255 

bridge, and continued to ascend above the right 
bank of the river. Numerous adits of mines, 
indicated by the earth and stones thrown from 
them, marked the pursuits of the inhabitants 
of this valley, who are nearly all miners. The 
mineral riches of these mountains — iron, lead, 
copper, silver, and gold — are worked at short dis- 
tances from each other ; and many of the mines of 
the inferior metals are very productive. The dis- 
tinction between the continuous valleys of Peste- 
rana and Anzasca, is strongly marked by a vast 
mass of the mountain, which, nearly closing the 
bottom of the former valley, leaves only a deep 
and savage gorge, through which the Anza escapes 
on the left side into the Val Anzasca. The path 
over this mass leads through what scarcely de- 
serves the name of a village, Morgen, but which 
lies in a spot richly wooded by magnificent chest- 
nut-trees. The descent into the Val Anzasca is 
very beautiful : the river is again crossed, over a 
fearful bridge, immediately below the defile of 
Pesterana ; and the road continues on the left 
bank of the river, entirely through the valley. 
The first village in the Val Anzasca is Campiole, 
near Ceppo Morelli ; it is the place which travel- 
lers who would avoid the valley of Macugnaga, or 
Pesterana, w r ould arrive at by the path over the 
Mont Moro. The descent, my guide informed me, 
is longer than from the Macugnaga pass; but 



256 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



much distance is gained by travellers who would 
go from the valley of Saas direct to the Val An- 
zasca. Here the Piemontese dialect began to pre- 
vail ; though the German patois of my guide w T as 
understood even below Vanzone. 

The immediate scenery of the upper part of 
this beautiful valley, where from its depth the 
lofty mountains were hid from my view, reminded 
me of some of the sweetest scenes of Devonshire. 
But the path soon rose above the left bank of the 
river, and attained a considerable elevation ; and 
I perceived that, except in a few limited spots at 
the upper end of the valley, and here and there on 
the steep sides of the mountains, there was no land 
to cultivate. Extensive forests of chestnut and 
walnut-trees, fine in form and rich in colour, 
clothed the hills as far up as the eye could per- 
ceive them (except where lofty and distant moun- 
tains peered above), and descended far beneath the 
traveller's path, to where it met the opposite slope, 
scarcely appearing to leave room enough for the 
river to struggle through, and of which glimpses 
were rarely caught. This was the general cha- 
racter of the valley. From a chapel at Cima- 
morga, in the road near Ceppo Morelli, there is 
a very striking view : in it all the beautiful cha- 
racteristics of the scenery seemed to be assembled — 
the river far beneath struggling through its narrow 
bed ; the majestic forests, which clothed the moun- 



PEOPLE OF THE VAL ANZASCA. 257 

tain sides, among which was sometimes seen a 
village church or group of cottages ; and the vista 
towards the Alps terminated by the vast and 
beautiful peaks of Mont Rosa. 

I was much struck by the appearance of the 
inhabitants of this valley. I rarely saw a plain 
woman : their beautiful faces and line forms, 
their look of cheerfulness and independence, and, 
what in Piemont was more remarkable, their ex- 
treme cleanliness, continually arrested attention. 
Their costume was peculiar, but pleasing : the 
hair braided ; a vest fitted to the form, and but- 
toned high, over which was another, usually em- 
broidered and left open ; beneath, a silk or other 
cincture round the waist, and a petticoat reaching 
half-way down the legs : the feet generally bare ; 
the sleeves of the chemise loose, full, and white as 
the snow of their mountains ; with faces, hands, 
and feet, cleaner than those of any other peasantry 
that I ever saw. Sometimes I observed a loose 
coat, like that of the modern Greek, worn over 
their usual dress, as if going on a distant visit. 
Naked feet are rarely seen without the conco- 
mitants of filth and beggary, and among such 
persons a large proportion of the gummy ; but 
here the feet, ancles, and legs, were models for 
the artist : and my admiration as a painter was 
demanded, in observing the elegant form and 
graceful appearance of one particularly beautiful 



258 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



young girl, near St. Carlo, who was bearing a vessel 
of oil on her head to the mines. All this I suppose 
will appear rodomontade to those who are only ac- 
quainted with the ugliness, filth, and wretchedness 
of the general inhabitants of the valleys of Piemont; 
but another fact will support the claims of the An- 
zascans to distinguished superiority. I did not see 
nor hear of a goitre or cretin in my day's journey 
of twenty-five miles through the valley — a strong 
confirmation of the opinions always given to my in- 
quiries by mountaineers themselves, that the filthy 
habits of a people are the primary cause of goitres 
and cretinism ; it is thus induced in the commu- 
nity of those afflicted by the dreadful scourge, 
becomes hereditary, and can only be removed by 
a change of habits in two or three generations. 
This valley differs not in the local causes, often 
cited as productive of cretinism, from other valleys 
which are marked by this scourge. The waters of 
the Anza flow from the glaciers of Mont Rosa as 
those of the Doire descend from Mont Blanc, and 
both are drank by the inhabitants. The proportions 
of labour, and burdens borne, are at least equal 
in the Val Anzasca ; the degree of elevation and 
moisture is similar ; and it is parallel with those 
valleys which are the most remarkable for this 
curse, the Valais and the Val d'Aosta. 

The Anzascans are aware that they have a re- 
putation for cleanliness and beauty, and they are 



VANZONE. 



259 



justly proud of it. Whilst I was taking refresh- 
ment at Vanzone, the principal town in the valley, 
I mentioned to the innkeeper (rather, a sort of 
keeper of a chandler's shop) the impression which 
the people of the valley had made upon me. He 
seemed delighted at my having noticed the fine 
women and their cleanliness, and said that what I 
had seen was not sufficient to do them justice : 
" Come," said he, " into our valley at a festa ; 
see our women on Sunday next at St. Carlo, the 
village below there, which you see in the valley ; 
all the world will be there : in Upper Val Sesia 
they boast of their women, but they are not to be 
compared to ours." I spoke again of their clean- 
liness ; he said, " Our women pride themselves 
upon the quantity, the fineness, and, above all, the 
whiteness of their linen ; and they are so scrupu- 
lously clean in their persons, that (I must use his 
own energetic expression) il est plus facile de 
trouver une mouche blanche dans cette vallee quune 
vermine." 

I had not observed any beggars in the valley ; 
and there was no appearance of poverty : mine 
host said, that the great industry of the Anzascans 
enabled them to establish funds for their poor, 
which prevented their wants, and restrained their 
begging. Those who could not work were assisted, 
and those who could, were not permitted to be 
idle. 



260 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Soon after leaving Vanzone we passed St. Carlo, 
and I wished that I could have conveniently waited 
until the festa, and seen the promised assembly of 
the Anzascans. After another hour we reached 
Ponte Grand e, a light single arch thrown across 
the Anza, over which a road led to Banio, and, by 
passes in the mountains, to the Val Sesia and 
Varallo. I had expected much from the scene 
described bv Ebel, of Mont Rosa from the Ponte 
Grande ; but it disappointed me : I had, perhaps, 
become fastidious. Shortly after, and near a little 
plain in the valley, called Valbianca, a fine water- 
fall presented itself. The road now became very 
hilly ; and after leaving Calasco, a steep and long 
ascent led high up the side of the valley. The 
road was covered for miles with vines trellised 
over the head of the traveller, which often formed 
fine and picturesque foregrounds to the immense 
depths and rich scenes of the valley through 
which I had passed : Calasco, Banio, and other 
towns or villages, relieved the eye ; and the vast 
and distant masses of the Pic Blanc of Mont 
Rosa still terminated the scene. Shortly before 
arriving at Castiglione the plain of Ossola opened 
to the view with an effect strikingly picturesque 
and beautiful, from our elevated situation. The 
vines, woods, Italian buildings — for they had now 
assumed that peculiar character — the deep valley 
beneath, the peep into the distant plain, and, be- 



VAL ANZASCA. 



261 



yond all these, the more distant mountains which 
divide the Val d'Ossola from the Lago Maggiore, 
formed an assemblage equal in picturesque charms 
to any that I had witnessed. Some time before 
we arrived at Castiglione a man had joined us, 
whose French was a relief to me from the silence 
of nearly all but gesture which my guide's patois 
imposed upon me. He relieved Jan by good- 
naturedly carrying his burthen, and was persuaded, 
with difficulty, to partake of some excellent wine 
of the valley, which we procured at Castiglione. 
He mentioned his intention of going to the 
Valteline. I picked up another companion, in a 
young man of respectable appearance going to 
Muliera ; from him I received much information, 
as we walked together, about journeys around 
Mont Rosa, and intelligence of the places and 
objects en route. It was evening when we reached 
Cima de Muliera, whence the descent is very 
rapid by a zig-gag paved road to Pie de Muliera, 
which he kindly walked through, to put me in 
the right road across the valley to Vogogna. He 
pointed out a house in passing through Pie de 
Muliera, which formerly belonged to a superin- 
tendent of the gold mines, who had fantastically 
displayed his riches, or his occupation, by gilding 
the balconies, railing, and other iron-work of his 
residence. I think I can perceive in the Val 
Anzasca the location of the Ictymuli, whose gold 



262 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



mines were so extensively wrought, that Pliny says 
a law existed among them which forbad their 
employing more than 5000 men. D'Anville and 
Cluverius place the Ictymuli at the head of the 
Val Sesia : it has always been a subject of diffi- 
culty with ancient geographers ; but here, where, 
and where only in Piemont, gold is still raised, 
the name of the Ictymuli may be traced in the 
villages of Cima de Muliera and Pie de Muliera, 
at the entrance to the valley where the mines are 
worked, and where yet, at the latter place, the 
receiver of the metal resides. This admitted, the 
commercial importance of the ancient pass of the 
Moro may be accounted for ; its antiquity, and the 
excellence of what remains of it, carries it back to 
a remote period as a line of intercourse, at least 
coeval w r ith that of the Great St. Bernard. 

It was nine o'clock, and I was much fatigued, 
when we reached the post-house at Vogogna, in the 
Val d'Ossola, where, though it was in the great 
route of the Simplon, I could not procure any 
thing but eggs and coffee ; the last chicken and 
came had just been devoured by two young men 
who were sitting in the sklle-a-manger. One of 
them, observing that I was an Englishman, re- 
gretted that they had cleared the larder ; he begged 
leave to assure me, that his father had taught him 
always to look upon my countrymen with respect 
and pleasure, and never to fail to express to them 



INSTANCE OF ITALIAN GRATITUDE. 263 

his gratitude for the distinguished kindness with 
which he had been treated by them when he was 
in England. " My fathers name, sir/' he said, 
" was Tremezzani, and my mother was the Sig- 
nora Bianca : both my parents are now dead ; 
and I never fail in this my duty to make a de- 
claration of my father's grateful recollections of 
England and Englishmen, when an opportunity 
occurs." 

I discharged my cheerful, civil guide before I 
retired, as he wished to leave Vogogna for his native 
valley at an early hour to-morrow morning : we 
parted excellent friends, with his assurance that 
he was contentissima. 

My recollection of the scenes which I have 
passed through in the last three days, from Visp to 
Vogogna, induce me to think this pass the most 
wild, interesting, and beautiful that I have yet 
made ; and the Val Anzasca I have distinguished 
in my mind as the happy valley, not only for the 
blessings which its inhabitants possess, but the evils 
which they appear to have avoided, and which 
have rendered even the presence of priests unne- 
cessary, — at least I saw none; nor did I, during 
my descent through the valley, from Macugnaga 
to Pie de Muliera, meet or see a soldier, a douanier, 
or a beggar — a goitre or a cretin. 



264 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Intra — Jour Maigre — Lago Maggiore — Luvino — Lugano — 
Lake of Lugano — Porlezza — Road to Menagio — Lake of 
Como — Domasio — Musquittoes — Lake of Riva — Chia- 
venna — Isola — New Route of the Splugen — Splugen — 
Andeer — Via Mala — Richendau — Coire. 

August 27th, — I engaged a char to take me to 
Intra, on the Lago Maggiore. Before I left the 
post-house, I found that my guide had ordered a 
supper last night, and left me to pay for it — -so 
much for the primitive simplicity of my man of 
Saas. I had expected, soon after leaving Vogogna 
and passing the Toccia, to have repassed the river, 
as indicated in a route in Kellar's map, and to have 
skirted its left bank to the Lago Maggiore ; but I 
was surprised at my conductor driving me on the 
Simplon route, beyond the magnificent bridge which 
crosses the Negolia, the river which flows from the 
beautiful Lago d'Orta, mentioned in my first ex- 
cursion, until we arrived very near to Fariolo, where 
we turned off by a new road that has been lately 
finished, which leads to the passage of the Toccia, 
by a flying bridge, close to its confluence with the 
lake. A new and beautiful route on the other side of 



INTRA. 



265 



the river skirts the lake to Sono and Palanza. My 
conductor turned off on the left to Intra, avoiding 
the detour of Palanza ; this short cut could scarcely 
be called a carriage-road. At Intra I was served 
with an abundant dinner ; for though it was maigre 
day, and offered to a single traveller, there were 
nine different dishes of fish, and as many of cooked 
and raw fruits, including a bottle of excellent wine : 
for all this the charge was only three francs. From 
the inn window the scene on the lake was very 
beautiful. Vines trellised in front of the inn af- 
forded shelter from the sun, to the traveller who 
preferred taking wine and refreshment oeneath 
them ; to which the breeze from the lake was a 
delicious aid. The beautiful forms and colours of 
the mountains that surround the lake, the deep 
tint of its waters, and the bustle of the boats and 
white fluttering of their sails on the surface of the 
lake — all formed a picture of romantic beauty. 

From Intra I took a boat, and ascended the 
lake to Luvino, where the Austrian douaniers asked 
for half a franc not to see my baggage. I arrived 
there about six o'clock, too late to go to Lugano this 
evening. The inn was very dirty, but the landlord 
civil and attentive. Just as I had retired, I was 
roused by the firing of cannon ; about thirty rounds 
disturbed the neighbourhood : this was the com- 
mencement of another festa in honour of the 

N 



266 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Virgin, the priests having again ordered a day of 
idleness for to-morrow. 

28th. — I was awoke this morning at four, by 
the busy idlers commencing their morning service 
to the Virgin with another salute of cannon. I 
engaged a char of my landlord, to take me to 
Lugano. On my leaving the narrow streets of 
Luvino, at five o'clock, some of the inhabitants 
were arranging an awning over the streets through 
which the image of the Madonna was to pass, and 
others were erecting triumphal arches of poles 
covered with moss, and decorated with artificial 
flowers. My conductor, a boy of the inn, in spite 
of the obstructions which this mummery produced, 
dashed up the steep streets and new road with such 
speed as almost to rob me of the beautiful scenes 
presented by the lake from the road above Luvino, 
where I compelled him to stop, however, whilst 
I made a sketch. Away we drove again ; the 
poor horse was forced through the beautiful valley 
of Tresa, up and down, with no other remission 
of his speed than the restraints which I imposed 
from a sense of danger. This extraordinary haste, 
regardless alike of my neck and the horse's safety, 
was made, to return to the festa in time. We 
accomplished in three hours what is usually a 
journey of five : it was scarcely eight o'clock when 
we arrived at Lugano. Much of the road is very 



LUGANO. 



267 



beautiful, particularly near Ponte Tresa. This town 
has a striking Italian air, owing to its numerous 
arcades, between which we rattled over the small 
pavement. The fig, the almond, the vine, and the 
peach, abounded in the scenes through which we 
drove. The occasional peeps over the western arm 
of the lake of Lugano, the hills richly wooded, the 
churches, convents, and villages, presented views 
highly picturesque ; and on the left, near the com- 
mencement of the descent to Lugano, the little 
lake of Muzano adds to the number of delightful 
scenes and impressions which the traveller receives 
in this pleasant route. 

I breakfasted at the Hotel de la Poste, in an 
immense salle-a-manger ; it appeared to be a good 
as well as large establishment. A boat was soon 
ready to take me to Porlezza, at the north-eastern 
extremity of the lake. The voyage was delightful. 
The most important feature in the scenes on the 
lake immediately after leaving Lugano, is the mont 
and church of St. Salvador, the ascent to which is 
long and difficult ; and though an annual service 
is performed there, I should think most of the 
attendants went in obedience to an order of their 
church as a penance. My boatman told me the 
mount was infested with vipers : let them dedi- 
cate it to St. Patrick. Opposite to Mont Sal- 
vador is the wine -port of the lake, Caprino, 
where it is kept cool in caverns ; it is a favourite 



268 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



resort of the wine-bibbers of Lugano. The day 
was beautiful : there was a spirit in the scene 
which charmed the feelings ; and the quiet of the 
lake, unbroken but by the rowers' paddles, seemed 
as if the world's cares had never come within its 
precincts. The hills which spring from the lake 
present forms as bold as the picturesque demands, 
and more beautiful than imagination could paint; 
the mountains, though covered with verdure and 
forest-trees, were indented into deep and varied 
ravines ; and the churches, and villas, and the 
towns, # which decorate their sides or crown their 
summits, break their masses with forms and colours 
which relieve and gratify the eye of the observer. 
Vines were terraced half-way up their sides ; but 
so arranged with the masses of wood and foliage, 
that art concealed art — unlike the eternal parallel 
lines which so effectually destroy the picturesque, 
and map out the sides of the hills which skirt the 
Rhine. 

The scenery became more wild and rugged as 
we approached Porlezza, the banks of the lake pre- 
senting every variety of form — abrupt, precipitous, 
shelving, and flat. Villas and villages every where 
speckle its shores, and relieve the foliage of the 
hills with an appearance so gay amidst a scene so 
retired as to create the idea of a beautiful contra- 
diction. 

* St. Mometto, Val Soldo, and others. 



WALK TO MENAGIO. 



269 



At Porlezza my passports were again demanded 
by the Austrian dugganiers, as a waggish friend 
calls them. Half a franc commanded their civility ; 
and I proceeded on foot to Menagio, on the Lago 
di Como, taking with me as a guide, and to carry 
my baggage, the boatman, a very fine young man, 
who was a soldier in the Austrian service on fur- 
lough. His leave of absence was nearly expired, 
and he would have in three weeks to join his regi- 
ment at Vienna. We were accompanied by a man 
to whom he had given a passage, for his services in 
assisting to row ; and we overtook the man going to 
the Valtelline whom I had met in the Val Anzasca, 
at Castiglione — it was a friendly recognition. The 
heat from twelve to two o'clock, the time occupied 
in our walk to Menagio, was excessive, and I never 
felt so severely oppressed by it. At Piano, a little 
village near a beautiful lake of that name, we pro- 
cured some wine, but could get no cold water, so 
that it rather increased our distress than allayed 
it ; and it was not till within a mile of Menagio 
that we found what we so much wanted — a foun- 
tain of icy coldness. I had often observed the 
carelessness of guides, who fearlessly allayed their 
thirst by copious draughts of the coldest water — 
in fact, despising all streams that were not so ; but 
I never saw any ill effects from it : they used the 
caution only of never so indulging except during a 
journey — never when they were likely to rest for 



270 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



an hour. The road to Menagio from Porlezza is 
excellent for carriages ; though the host at Luvino 
told me last evening that it was not possible to 
pass it but on foot ; and among other lies, that it 
was on the edge of precipices fearfully hanging 
over the lake. I have not travelled any where 
in Switzerland over a better road. A mile before 
we arrived at Menagio we met several young fel- 
lows, who pressed me to agree with them for a 
boat to Riva ; but I was rather too old a traveller 
for the trick : in spite of their officiously relieving 
my guide of some baggage, and other decoys, I 
was obstinate in confining my offers to one half 
of what they asked ; and it was only when we 
were entering Menagio, that they agreed to what 
I learnt they could not fulfil of themselves, but 
sought boatmen to bargain for my conveyance 
at a price which would leave them a profit. I then 
refused their services. Their next object was to 
procure bribes from the innkeeper to detain me for 
the night, by preventing my getting a boat; but 
I had, luckily, a friend in the man who had ac- 
companied us from Lugano ; he was anxious to get 
to his home at Cremia, a village on the borders of 
the lake, and he had therefore an interest in de- 
feating the rascals. 

I soon procured a boat, took in my stores, and 
embarked for Riva. My friend was put on shore 
at Cremia ; and at six o'clock I arrived at Do- 



LAKES OF COMO AND RIVA. 



271 



masio, which my men insisted upon putting into, 
and wished me to stay there for the night, or, at 
all events, to procure another boat and boatmen 
to navigate the shallows which connect the lake 
of Como to that of Riva. They told me that any 
attempt to sleep at Riva would be fatal ; — that all 
travellers, to avoid the malaria, rested at Domasio, 
or proceeded to Chiavenna, which it was now too 
late for me to do : I was determined ; and finding 
me so, they got another light boat ready, into 
which I was soon transferred ; and the skill and 
caution displayed by my new associates, convinced 
me that my boatmen from Menagio had acted 
prudently. The current sets strong into the lake 
of Como, and the channel is so shallow, that even 
with my experienced men we were once aground. 
The slow mixture of the waters presented a curious 
appearance : the yellow turbid water of the Riva 
flowed for a considerable way into the lake of 
Como, with a line as distinctlv marked as dif- 
ferent liquors in a chemist's shew-bottle ; and 
two inches on either side of the line a phial 
might have been filled with foul or clear water. 
Myriads of musquittoes annoyed us. I wrapped 
myself well in my cloak, and when passing the 
flats between the lakes, wore my gauze mask 
for protection : these insects disappeared after we 
got into deep water. We proceeded through a 
scene of sterility ; the bare rocks, rising perpen- 



272 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



dicularly from the lake, appeared fearfully to 
hang over us to a terrific height ; and this effect 
was increased by the darkness and obscurity of 
evening, which had now overtaken us. The 
rising moon made the eastern side of the lake 
take a deeper hue, whilst her faint light gave a 
visionary appearance to the wild rocks which over- 
hung our approach to Riva ; and the evening's 
silence was only broken by the occasional hum of 
a musquitto. It was nine o'clock before we ar- 
rived at Riva; the boatmen advised me not to 
attempt to remain there, and offered to take my 
portmanteau and walk on twelve miles with me, 
to Chiavenna. The night was beautiful. I loaded 
my guides, and after a long and fatiguing day's 
journey, I found myself welcomed, at twelve 
o'clock, by the civil landlord of the Poste, who, 
though knocked up, procured me refreshment, 
and shewed me to a clean and excellent bed and 
chamber. 

29th. — Mine host of the Post Haus was very 
obliging. I had arisen too late to see some En- 
glish travellers who had slept there on their way 
to the lake. A look is probably all that would have 
been exchanged. My courtesies were generally 
ready for my countrymen ; but I had seen so 
much of their unconquerable sheepishness and 
restraining pride, that I seldom began a conver- 
sation with an Englishman unless invited to it by 



CHIAVENNA. 



273 



an expression which said, it will be courteously 
received. Mine host walked out with me as 
cicerone ; he was communicative and obliging, 
and went with me over what had once been a 
cloister, but its cells were now employed as depots 
of wine, corn, &c. : his object in taking me there 
was to shew me a picture, — for he dabbled in the 
fine arts, and sometimes caught a gull, to whom 
he sold a picture whose only recommendation 
was the name of a school or master, which, boldly 
asserted, was a bait not to be resisted by some of 
my countrymen who would be thought, with 
u Sir Visto," to have a taste. This convent was 
purchased by the post-master when these worse 
than useless establishments were suppressed by the 
French during their occupation of Chiavenna. My 
cicerone is thought a rich man, and consequently 
an important one. There are some large caverns 
in the rocks near the city, which are extremely 
cold : in these the famous wine is kept which is 
brought from the Valtelline, and of which large 
quantities are now sent into the Grisons, since the 
completion of the route of the Splugen. 

The voiture which had brought my country- 
men from Coire to Chiavenna, I engaged, through 
the agency of the postmaster, to take me across 
the Splugen on his return, and I agreed to pay 
him two French crowns (twelve francs) a-day 
whilst I employed him : it was a roomy excellent 

n2 . 



274 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



carriage, with two good horses. My conductor 
spoke only German and Romanche, except a few 
words of Italian, which became my only means of 
communication with him. We left Chiavenna 
about nine o'clock, and ascended by an excellent 
road the valley, or rather gorge, of St. Giacomo. 
From Chiavenna to St. Maria the road lies in this 
narrow valley, which is strewed with rocks, through 
which the torrent of the Lira struggles, that de- 
scends from the south side of the Splugen. Wher- 
ever a little soil is found, the chestnut and walnut- 
trees grow luxuriantly ; and not an inch of ground 
which can be effected by the plough or the spade, 
is neglected. The tower of St. Maria is a striking 
object in its wild locality, as the eye turns back 
on the valley and regards the entrance to the Val 
Bregaglia. Well-constructed tourniquets in the 
road enabled us to ascend rapidly ; and I found 
myself at the entrance of the Campo Dolcino 
much earlier than I expected. The name pro- 
mises much more than the scene realises ; for the 
Campo Dolcino is a little unpicturesque plain, 
about a mile in length, surrounded by lofty moun- 
tains. After passing through it, the road enters a 
defile, in which the most striking feature is a 
waterfall of nearly 300 feet in height, which ap- 
pears to fall from the heavens, as the sky is inter- 
cepted by the top of the fall, where its bright edge 
reflects so much light that the line of separation 



ISOLA. 



275 



is with so much difficulty distinguished, that they 
appear to be united : the dark rocks on either side 
near their bases are well wooded, and present alto- 
gether a striking scene. Thence the road shortly 
opens upon the rising plain of Isola ; and the 
mountain-road, by the old pass of the Cardinels, is 
abruptly presented. The new road turns off half a 
* mile before Isola, and ascends on the right : and to 
those who travel post or rest at Campo Dolcino, 
Isola is altogether avoided ; but we went there to 
refresh the horses and ourselves. I was provided 
with an excellent dinner, and with the dessert a 
delicious preparation of curds, known by the name 
of sega. From the window of the inn at Isola, the 
new road could be seen winding to a vast height 
above the valley. The newly-constructed galleries 
were distinctly seen; some had been insecurely 
built, and the labourers were employed in repair- 
ing them, and blasting the rocks for the widening 
of other parts of the road. Whilst I waited the 
preparation of my dinner, at one o'clock I heard 
a drum beaten in the mountains, which my host 
told me was the signal to the men to guard against 
the explosions, which took place every day at that 
hour. In a few moments the thunder of the mines 
reverberated through the valley, and the rocks 
blown out and rolling down the mountain sides, 
produced, from where I was securely placed, a 
fine effect. Isola was the last village on the road 



276 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



when the pass was by the Cardinels. Now the 
landlord's occupation, as well as that of the villa- 
gers, who acted as guides, must be almost gone. 
The old road was exceedingly dangerous in the 
spring; but at other times, though always fatiguing, 
its appalling terrors were only to be found in the 
books of travellers. 

From Isola we returned to the new road, and 
began its ascent ; it is steeper than that of the 
Simplon generally, and all the turns are so abrupt, 
that a carriage descending rapidly would, with- 
out great caution on the part of the postilion, 
be thrown over in winding round the tourni- 
quets : there were not fewer, I think, than thirty 
turnings in the zig-zag ascent. My conductor 
was very anxious to learn if I had a stiletto with 
me ; because, he said, if it were seen by the 
Austrian preposc on the summit at their station, 
I should be sent in chains to Milan or Venice. 
I told him that the Eno-lish never travelled with 
stilettos, but were usually armed with pistols. 
" Ah ! had I pistols?" " Yes." " They were 
worse than stilettos. Were they large? " " No." 
" Worse still ; if they had been large and difficult 
to conceal, they might have passed as a necessary 
protection to a traveller ; but small pistols, such 
as mine, which increased his terror on inspection, 
as they had percussion-locks, to him a secret con- 
trivance, would lead me into certain difficulty if 



NEW ROUTE OF THE SPLUGEN. 277 

they were seen. An Italian nobleman, he said, 
had been sent back from the Splugen to Venice 
handcuffed, because a stiletto (secret arms) had 
been found upon him. I laughed at his fears, 
and had cause to do so, as I was neither sub- 
jected to inquiry nor search at the custom-house. 

An ascent of an hour brought us to that part 
of the road where the rocks had been blasted,. and 
it had since required the active exertions of nearly 
a hundred men, women, and children employed 
there, to remove enough of the rocks and stones 
blown out, to make a passage for the carriage, 
and in some places we were detained. The works 
were of various character to protect the traveller 
against avalanches in dangerous parts : in some, 
excavations had been made in the solid rock, 
others were covered ways built of strong masonry; 
and some had on the lower side of the road, walls 
and pillars of masonry, from the tops of which 
rafters were placed sloping upwards to the rocks 
or steep banks : on the high side of the road these 
are covered with fir plank, making an inclined 
roof, over which the winter avalanche can slide into 
the abyss below, and leave the traveller in shelter 
and security beneath its protection. Antonio Tala- 
chini, of Milan, was the apaltatore or engineer-in- 
chief for the route of the Splugen, and Donneganna 
his assistant. 

The scene from near the last of these covered 



278 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



ways on the ascent, at the " Casa di recovero da 
Tagiate," is very extraordinary, from the vast depth 
of the valley, and the appearance of the road which 
conducts to it, as it is seen stretching its white 
and zig-zag line, like the track of some enormous 
serpent, down the mountain's side ; and it is fur- 
ther traced at the end of the plain of Isola, and 
among the mountain bases beyond it, even to 
the little plain of Campo Dolcino. From the 
sides of the surrounding mountains, torrents, like 
white threads, were seen to pour their streams 
into the valley below. Above Tagiate the road 
assumes a more savage aspect. Mont Splugen 
rises before it, covered with its eternal glaciers ; 
and the greatest elevation of the pass seems here 
to be attained : it turns rather abruptly round to 
the left, and enters upon a plain which bears every 
character of an ancient lake : through this a gra- 
dual descent conducts to the station of the Aus- 
trians, at the frontier of their new state of Chia- 
venna. Here numerous carts and wagons, laden 
with cotton, &c. going to Switzerland, and fir 
planks brought over from the pine-forests in the 
Grisons, on the way to Milan, were waiting the 
necessary passports and authorities. I met more 
than 200 such wagons this day, chiefly drawn by 
bullocks. The obvious commercial importance of 
this route created surprise that it was so long 
impracticable to this mode of conveyance. The 



SPLUGEN. 



279 



situation of the custom-house was well chosen, as, 
though the elevation is very great, it is yet sur- 
rounded by mountains, and in every way sheltered. 
The douaniers were so obliging, that it was not 
even necessary to get out of the carriage. A small 
coin given to the officer who took and brought my 
passport, secured his civility. 

From the custom-house to the summit was 
about half an hour. Near this was another casa 
di recovero ; and at the greatest elevation a circle 
is formed in the road, where seats and a memento 
of the construction of this route are placed. From 
this spot the Swiss side of the mountain is seen 
extending far and deep into the pine-forests; and 
the road, after numerous windings, again reaches 
the woods, whence, in a short time, it opens upon 
the valley of the Hinter-Rhin and the village of 
Splugen. To enter this town a covered bridge 
over the Rhine is traversed, and a very good inn 
offered its welcome to us ; but I had determined, 
as we had still three hours of light before us, to 
refresh a little, and proceed to Andeer. The inn 
was a large establishment, where groceries, iron- 
mongery, mercery, and drapery, as well as wines, 
were to be had. Mine host was also the land- 
ammann and post-master, &c. We procured good 
wine, which we immediately drank; and I took on 
a delicious bottle of Cyprus with us. 

We descended by the banks of the Rhine, and 



280 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



crossed it as we entered the glen of Rofla, which I 
fancied was the Via Mala, and under this impres- 
sion was disappointed, though the route was wild 
and fine, lying through a glen in which were some 
remains of iron-works. Here vast pines were ac- 
cumulated, brought down by a slide from a height 
far above us, the slide being two miles long : it 
is from this place that the supplies of building- 
timber are now chiefly obtained for Milan, with 
which we saw the wagons laden on the mountain. 
The Rhine is a foaming torrent through this glen, 
forming some fine cataracts, seen through the 
large trunks of old and broken pines. The descent 
to Andeer, in the valley of Schams, from the village 
of Splugen, 1500 feet nearer to the level of the sea, 
occupied nearly three hours. At Andeer I was 
welcomed at an excellent inn, the Golden Crown, 
where good refreshment and a comfortable bed 
promised to prepare me well for the continuance 
of my journey. 

30^7*. — The clouds hung low and heavy in the 
valley of Schams, and obscured the surrounding 
scenery : this is an accident to which the Alpine 
traveller is very liable, and it is fortunate for him 
if he be detained in a place where he may visit 
churches, collections, or public works of interest, 
and his language be understood. Here the tedium 
of a six hours' detention was scarcely relieved by 
a visit to the small unpretending Protestant church 



VIA MALA. 



281 



of Andeer. The people are of the reformed re- 
ligion, and their language Romanche. On my 
descent from the church I was addressed in En- 
glish by a gentleman, whose commercial inter- 
course with us, during the prohibition of English 
goods on the continent by Buonaparte, when the 
agency of the Swiss was as profitable as it was 
dangerous, had given him a familiar acquaintance 
with our language ; I found him intelligent, com- 
municative, and encouraging, for he gave me 
the hope of the weather clearing in a few hours, 
and my proceeding to Coire to-day. We walked 
together to the old warm baths of Andeer or 
Pigneurbad — now deserted and decaying. He 
related to me some extraordinary tales of bear- 
hunts. These furnish some of the brightest oppor- 
tunities for displays of heroism among the moun- 
taineers of these districts: from him, too, I learned 
something of the recent undertakings of the canton 
of the Grisons, in the construction of the road 
over the Bernardin, and that which they also con- 
template of the passage by the Julian Alps. The 
weather cleared up about twelve o'clock, when I 
started, taking with me my new friend as far as 
Tusis. We passed through Zillis or Schams, and 
shortly entered the tremendous defile of the Via 
Mala. A safe and well-constructed road conducts 
through this narrow glen, where the rocks and 
mountains rise to a vast height above the traveller's 



282 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



head. Sometimes forests of pines, which spring 
out of the face of the rock, scarcely lessen its sa- 
vage aspect, as some of them, scathed and broken, 
hang fearfully over, or entangle with the trunks 
and roots of others. Three well-constructed stone 
bridges, thrown across a horrid gulf, hardly af- 
ford to the passenger a sense of security. Some 
glimpses only are caught of the struggling tor- 
rent, which from the parapet of the first bridge 
appears foaming through its tortuous bed, appa- 
rently, from its violent eddies, against the direction 
of the stream. A stone dropped from the parapet 
sunk above 200 feet before it touched the water. 
Large trunks of trees brought down by the tor- 
rents hung in crevices and on ledges of the rocks 
below, and added greatly to the wild horror of 
the fearful depth. 

At the end of the defile, where it opens into the 
vale of Domleschg, the castle of Rhaalta, or Alba 
Rhetia, said to be the oldest in the Grisons, towers 
on the perpendicular rock of Johannenstein 640 
feet above the bed of the Rhine, and commands 
the entrance to the defile, nearly opposite to where 
a road is cut through the rock, at a place called 
the Verlohren Loch ; it is a bad specimen of en- 
gineering. They began to pierce it at both ends, 
and it cannot be said that they met in the middle, 
it is so crooked ; yet its length is not above a hun- 
dred paces. In this part of the gorge the strug- 



REICHENAU. 



283 



gling torrent can scarcely be heard, and not at all 
seen below ; and of the vast pines which grow out 
of the rocky fissures half-way down, the tops do not 
reach the parapet of the road. A few years ago, 
the pines on the other side of the gorge took fire, 
and the heat was so excessive that travellers could 
not pass on the road opposite for several days. 
Just beneath the old castle I parted with my com- 
panion, who crossed the river on a light bridge, 
to ascend the valley of the Albula, whilst I pro- 
ceeded through Tusis, crossing by a bridge the 
black waters of the Nolla. The rain which occa- 
sionally fell annoyed me less than it would other- 
wise have done, because I was aware of the neces- 
sity of my returning to the village of Splugen, on 
my way to the Bernardin, and therefore that this 
day's scenery would be revisited. I passed through 
the rich valley of Domleschg to Retzuns and Rei- 
chenau ; where the Vorder Rhine is crossed by a 
wooden covered bridge before the traveller enters 
the village. We rested here to refresh the horses, 
and I entered the gardens of the landammann, who 
is a large proprietor in this canton. These pleasant 
gardens project between the two bridges towards 
the confluence, and are delightfully situated, but 
there is a finnikin and Cockney air about their 
laying out which one could not have expected so 
far from Pentonville. In leaving Reichenau we 
crossed a wooden and covered bridge, of a single 



284 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



immense arch, one of the finest structures of this 
class in the Grisons ; thence the road turns off 
abruptly towards Coire ; continuing on the right 
bank of the Rhine, it passes through Ems, where 
the Mont Galenda appears, a grand object. The 
valley widens into a plain ; and seated deep on the 
right, at the base of some lofty mountains, Coire, 
the capital of the Grisons, is finely situated. I 
was received with much civility, chez Carlo Denz, 
at the Steinbroc. After a table-d'hote supper with 
some ex-military, I made arrangements for the 
refitting of my wardrobe during the time which 
I propose making an excursion to the lake of 
Wallenstadt. 



285 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Ragatz — Sargans — Lake of Walienstadt — Fall of the Saren- 
bacb — Innkeeper — Vale of Seetz — Baths of Pfeffers — Visit 
to the Spring — Road to the Convent of Pfeffers — Coire — 
Voiturier — Via Mala — Andeer — Valley of Schams—Rofla 
— Splugen — Rhinwald — Naufanen — A Family of Giants. 

August 31 st. — I started early with the same 
voiturier, Jacob Rugg, who had brought me from 
Chiaveima. Our route, the high road to the lake 
of Constance, lay through a fertile valley. After 
crossing the river which issues from the vale of 
Prettigau, we left the main road, and crossed the 
Rhine to Ragatz : the valley here is beautiful, 
and the approach to Ragatz highly picturesque; 
on the left the convent of Pfeffers is seen among 
some rude mountain masses, many of them crowned 
with ruins of feudal castles — objects of as much 
pleasure to the philanthropist as the painter. 
The Rhine flows at the foot of a vast mountain, 
the Falkniss, which it separates from the Scholl- 
berg, whose grand form enriches the scene, as it 
rises in great magnificence above Sargans. The 
valley through which the Rhine flows is only sepa- 



286 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



rated from the valley of the Seetz, or of Sargans, 
by an elevation of about twenty feet, which, acting 
as an embankment, prevents the Rhine from 
taking a shorter cut by the lake of Wallenstadt, 
instead of flowing on to the lake of Constance. The 
views westerly, from near Ragatz, are bounded by 
the distant and lofty mountains which surround 
the lake of Wallenstadt. The whole ride from 
Coire to the lake is beautiful and full of interest. 
We arrived early, three o'clock, at Wallenstadt, 
and put up at the post-house, the Auberge de la 
Cerf. I immediately made arrangements for an 
excursion on the lake, of which I had had some 
peeps on my approach to Wallenstadt. A boat 
was soon ready, and I was rowed up the northern 
side of the lake to the little commune of St. Quen- 
tin, the only spot amidst the precipices of its 
northern banks where there is space for a village ; 
here we landed, and gathered some plums, which „ 
grew in immense quantities in the orchards. We 
continued on the same side of the lake, and visited 
the falls which have given a certain celebrity to 
these scenes. That of the Sarenbach descends 
from a height so vast, 1600 feet, that it is soon 
dispersed in mist, and only the white foaming line 
at its summit can be seen from the bottom of the 
gorge into which the fall descends, and where 
the dispersed waters again accumulate, and the 
re-formed stream rushes past the observer into the 



LAKE OF WALLENSTADT. 



287 



lake; but even in the winter and spring, when 
the quantity of water is the greatest, it is so dis- 
proportioned to the vastness of the surrounding 
objects, that it adds no more sublimity to the 
scene than the squirt of a fire-engine does to the 
effect of a fire. 

All the guide-books assert that the rocks which 
form the bases of the Mont Ammon descend from 
their vast height perpendicularly to the lake. 
This is not true. The border of the lake where 
these towering masses are highest is half a mile, 
from a base perpendicular to the summit ; and 
it is only from the opposite side of the lake that 
their height forcibly impresses the spectator. I 
confess that this lake, of which I had heard so 
much, disappointed me ; and half the reports 
given of the dangers of its navigation are raised 
by the boatmen, to increase the value of their 
services. The winds are not so variable on the 
lake as they are reported to be : the frail barks 
used there would be dangerous any where ; and 
strangers ought not to pay for escaping the risk 
which those whom they employ might avoid. 

After enjoying a splendid sunset on the lake, 
at eight o'clock we returned to Wallenstadt, where 
my supper and bed were heartily welcomed, though 
the latter, from its littleness, was uncomfortable, 
and the coverlids so small, that I sought to remedy 
this evil by taking two, one from off another bed. 



288 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 

Sept. 1st. — There is something amusing in the 
republican importance of the titles of which mine 
host could boast : Estace Franz Jacob Huber, auber- 
giste of the Cerf, was kreisamtmann, post-master, 
prefet of all the valleys of Wallenstadt, judge of 
the peace, counsellor of the state of St. Gallen, 
and president of tribunal in premiere instance. He 
bears the character of a worthy man, and in this 
country he certainly was a great one. I have 
generally observed, that innkeepers are amongst 
the most reputable people in Switzerland, and 
hold the highest civil appointments. Nothing is 
more common than to find that your landlord is 
landammann. 

The person who waited upon me at supper was 
an officer who had been in the service of Sardinia, 
but obliged to fly from his country for political 
offences. He appeared to be a gentlemanly, clever 
man, whose hard fate drove him to this place of 
refuge, where he was treated with the kindness of 
friendship : he attends the guests of the master, to 
make himself useful. He had hopes of a recall 
from the new sovereign of Sardinia. 

We returned by the vale of Seetz, and saw, in 
the direction opposite to my advance to Wallen- 
stadt, new beauties in the scenery. The chateau of 
Flums on the right, and the castellated rocks on 
our left — the rich valley beyond, and the grand 
mountains in the distance, presented a magnificent 



BATHS OF PFEFFERS. 



289 



scene. The old castle of Sargans, under the Scholl- 
berg, is a finely situated object. We returned to 
Ragatz, where I was disgusted with the taste and 
devotion with which a crucifix was painted green, 
with spots of red upon it to represent blood. Ro- 
binson Crusoe's Muscovite idol could not have been 
more hideous; yet this was an object of worship 
in a Christian country ! We left the carriage at 
Ragatz, and walked to the baths at Pfeffers. The 
ascent lay through a forest bordering a deep glen : 
the heat was oppressive, and it was two hours be- 
fore we left the wood, and entered some fields which 
we crossed. After passing a torrent, we rested in 
a small chapel, whence we saw the convent of 
Pfeffers : the high grounds around it prevented 
our looking into the valley of Ragatz ; but the 
Falkniss, which bounded the valley on the other 
side of the Rhine, presented a background rich 
in tint, and very grand in form. 

Soon after, we advanced towards a hollow, 
in which it would have been impossible to have 
guessed that there existed a deep and savage gorge, 
the channel of the Tamina ; into it, however, we 
rapidly descended by a zig-zag path, and saw on 
the opposite side the face of a perpendicular rock, 
below which, at a depth of above 600 feet, we 
observed the top of a roof, which covered the con- 
ventual baths of Pfeffers ; a steep path led us down 
to them. Before reaching the baths, we met many 



290 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



invalids, resting on seats conveniently placed on the 
side of this extraordinary ravine. We at length 
arrived at the building, and entered what, from its 
form, would seem to be the corridor of a convent, 
but which, in its adaptation, was rather a bazaar. 
Linens, silks, caps, hats, pipes, cutlery, boxes, 
ribands, toys, &c, were arranged on stalls, and a 
sort of " What d'ye buy V invitation was made 
by every master or mistress of a stall. As I learnt 
that the table-d'hote was [to be ready at twelve 
o'clock, I took my place there: it was well-occupied 
and well-supplied. In this monkish establishment 
women alone served. The abbot presided, and eight 
or ten brethren from the convent attended. A few 
ladies were present; and among the invalids was a 
Prussian minister. My left-hand neighbour took 
a lesson in English, and the whole thing passed 
off pleasantly. 

After dinner, I went to visit the hot spring at 
its source. A young German offered to accompany 
me with the guide, who questioned my ability to 
bear with a steady head a dangerous passage; I 
assured him of my self-confidence, and we pro- 
ceeded. Having descended, and passed through 
the pump-room, we went out on a wooden bridge, 
which crossed the Tamina foaming beneath our 
feet, whilst above us, at a height of 625 feet, a 
shed was projected over the face of the rock, 
whence provisions, &c. were lowered to the baths, 



VISIT TO THE SPRING. 



291 



the rock being so perpendicular that every thing 
was conveyed without touching until it reached 
the convent below. After crossing the bridge, we 
entered the dark rift of the rock, walking usually 
on two planks, but in some places on one only, 
fixed on cramps driven into the side of the rock — 
no rail, no protection but in sure feet and a steady 
head : here and there it was necessary to stoop to 
avoid the rock, which leaned acutely towards that 
on the other side of the torrent, and at one place 
the sides met at the height of 200 feet above our 
heads, whilst the river rushed foaming nearly 100 
feet below us, ready to finish, to a certainty, the ac- 
cident of a slip. We thus proceeded between 600 
and 700 feet into the gorge, which became darker 
as we advanced, until the rocks above us excluded 
the day. For a considerable part of the way, our 
only light was that which occasional breaks in the 
roof of this enormous vault afforded, and through 
which we saw forest trees of great magnitude grow- 
ing above us, parts of their large roots hanging 
through the openings. My guide and our young 
German companion, as I saw them moving along 
the planks at a little distance, and in this " dark- 
ness visible, 5 ' presented a wild and mysterious ap- 
pearance, that was perfectly awful in our extraor- 
dinary situation. Near the warm spring the cavern 
became lighter ; those who visit it usually climb 
up to the source over a rock of loose slate. In 



292 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



this there is no danger. The temperature of the 
water is here 100° of Fahrenheit. It is stated 
by some travellers, that the planks are often 
dangerous from being slippery. I certainly did 
not find it so, as my boots rather adhered to 
the damp wood. Fatal accidents have sometimes 
happened, when the advice of the guide has been 
disregarded. A few years since, three Germans 
kept so close together, that their weight was 
thrown at the same time upon one plank, which 
broke, and they were precipitated into the dread- 
ful torrent of the Tamina beneath them. Their 
bodies were not found till long after, and one of 
these in the bed of the Rhine under the Falkniss. 

The trunk or wooden channel which conveys 
the water to the baths is cramped firmly to the 
wall a little above the path of planks. On getting 
out of the cavern, I felt grateful for my safety, and 
gratified by the accomplishment of this interesting 
visit to the springs. It is one of the very few spots 
that I have seen where no disappointment can 
arise from previous description. 

Therte are now accommodations for 300 persons 
at these baths : they belong to a rich convent of 
Benedictine monks, who propose still to enlarge 
the establishment. Their convent is at Pfeffers. 

To vary our route back to the valley of the 
Rhine, when we left the baths, we ascended a dif- 
ferent road, and crossed by a steep and wild path 



CONVENT OF PFEFFERS. 



293 



over the very rocks which, when we were in the 
caverns, were over our heads ; and we now found 
that the roof of our late ceiling was the bottom of 
a deep and savage ravine, well wooded with forest 
trees of great girth. We continued to ascend, or 
rather climb, by some hundreds of steps rudely 
constructed ; these at last brought us to the top of 
the cliff, over which the shed was projected that 
served to lower necessaries to the baths ; hence it 
was near two miles to the village and convent of 
Pfeffers. A road on the right of the convent led 
to Ragatz. My conductor hastened on to bring the 
carriage, whilst I enjoyed the scene, and sketched 
the beautiful valley from the woods through which 
I descended to the road ; the carriage soon arrived, 
and we returned to Coire. On our way, I stopped 
to obtain some refreshment at Trimmis, where the 
landlord addressed me in very good English, which 
he had acquired during a residence as a noble- 
man's servant in England. 

2d. — My voiturier, Jacob Rugg, turned out 
no better than a rascal. He had agreed to take 
me from Chiavenna for twelve francs a-day, to go 
where I pleased, and keep him as long as I liked. 
When we returned yesterday from Wallenstadt, 
to keep accounts short, I paid him for four days' 
service, and gave him six franks extra; he ex- 
pressed himself obliged. I told him to be with 
me at six this morning to go to Bellinzona, by the 



294 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



St. Bernardin ; he came without his voiture, to de- 
mand that I should pay him back again to Coire. 
I thought if I paid him back for any distance 
greater than two days, I should be placing him in 
a more favourable situation than I had found him ; 
and this, at least, he was not entitled to. After 
some manoeuvring to take advantage of my not 
being able readily to procure other means of return- 
ing to Splugen, and finding me resolved to walk 
rather than submit to imposition, he came back to 
offer better terms. I succeeded, however, in getting 
a char to take me to Andeer for fourteen francs. 
Jacob, finding himself a loser by his tricks, offered 
to go for his old terms, then for half, rather than 
I should take the conveyance of a rival ; but I had 
the pleasure of leaving him at the inn-door, an 
object of derision to his townsmen. 

My new conductor drove with great spirit : we 
rested a short time at Reichenau. The weather 
was splendid, and the beautiful vale of Domleschg, 
with a clear and bright view of the mountains 
which surround it, speckled with the ruins of old 
castles, richly deserved a revisit. In returning 
through the Via Mala, the burnt trunks of the 
pines marked the spot where the fire had taken 
place during the formation of the road, and the 
heat of which had, for a time, rendered it impass- 
able. The impossibility of turning round to observe 
every point left in the scenes through which the tra- 



VIA MALA. 



295 



veller passes, especially in such a defile as that of 
the Via Mala, renders them, when the journey is 
made in a contrary direction, i^ew and striking. 
I repassed this extraordinary road with as much 
pleasure and surprise as I felt in my first visit. 

The Via Mala is a road made on the sides of a 
deep ravine, formed by the bases of two moun- 
tains, which spring 6000, and even 8000 feet, from 
the torrent of the Hinter-Rhin, which divides them. 
Its entire length is about four miles from the Ver- 
lohren loch to the valley of Schams; 

It would appear that the name of the Verlohren 
loch was formerly applied to the whole length of 
the ravine ; but after the first construction of the 
road, which took place in 1470, that portion 
through which it passed bore the appropriate name 
of the Via Mala, and the impassable part only 
retained the name which it still bears. At a re- 
mote period, the communication between Tusis 
and Splugen lay over the mountain of the Piz 
Beveren, on the left bank of the Rhine, and 
descended upon Suvers in the Rhinwald — thus 
avoiding, by a considerable detour, the Via Mala ; 
but in 1470, some improvements were made, by 
descending into the upper part of the Via Mala at 
Rongella ; and this road was further improved in 
1738, by changing part of its course to the other 
side of the ravine, and constructing two bridges, 
which were boldly thrown across this frightful gulf. 



296 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



When the establishment of a carriage-road by 
the St. Bernardin was decided upon by the state of 
the Grisons,Pocobelli, the engineer, particularly di- 
rected his attention to the entrance of the Via Mala, 
at the Verlohren loch on the side of Tusis, and de- 
termined to carry the road through the obstacles 
that opposed him there, as he considered that it 
would shorten the route, as well as be less expen- 
sive, than to repair and improve the road by Ron- 
gella. The success of his enterprise was complete : 
a well-made carriage -road is now extended across 
the river Nolla, near its confluence with the Hinter- 
Rhin, by a new bridge ; thence it is carried round 
the eastern side of the ravine to where a projecting 
and perpendicular rock overhangs the torrent ; 
through this he has cut a gallery 216 feet long, 
14 feet high, and 18 feet wide. The scene imme- 
diately around this spot is very grand : the rocks 
towering above the road, and sinking far into the 
abyss below, appal the observer. The width of the 
gulf no where appears to exceed 150 feet. Vast 
pines jut out of the rock into this gorge, and flourish 
where it is difficult to conceive that the roots can 
either attach themselves or derive nourishment. 

The old castle of Rhaalta* is said to have de- 
rived its name from Rhsetius, a Tuscan chief, who 
was driven from Italy by the Gauls 587 years before 
the Christian era, six centuries before the conquest 
* See page 282. 



YALLEY OF SCHAMS. 



297 



of this country by the Romans. In the fifth cen- 
tury it fell into the hands of the Allemanni, and 
then, successively, to the Goths and the Franks. 
Close to the ruins of the castle are those also of a 
church dedicated to St. John, which was built when 
Christianity was first introduced into the Grisons. 
The view from the summit of the rock, over the 
vale of Domleschg, is said to be very fine. 

In many parts of the Via Mala, where the 
road is 300 or 400 feet above the torrent, the sides 
of the ravine are not fifty feet apart. Such spots 
have been chosen for the construction of the bridges 
by which the gorge is traversed, the road having 
been carried on one side or the other, as it was found 
practicable and convenient; but it requires a steady 
head to look down from the parapets of the bridges 
into the gulf below. The southern escape from 
these extraordinary scenes is into the tranquil little 
valley of Schams, which, by contrast with the hor- 
rors of the Via Mala, seems to be beautiful. About 
a league from the Via Mala, near the baths of Pig- 
nou, a bridge crosses the torrent : an inscription 
upon it records the completion of the new route : 

JAM VIA PATET 
HOSTIBUS ET AMICIS 

CAVETE RHAETI ! 
SIMPLICITAS MOftUM 

ET UNIO 
SERVABUNT AVITAM 
LIBERTATEM. 

o2 



298 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Beneath the inscription is the symbol of Wil- 
liam Tell — an apple pierced by an arrow. 

Near the upper extremity of the little valley 
of Schams, I reached Andeer, and was welcomed 
at the Golden Crown by the young postmaster, 
Jacques Faar, with whom I had been much pleased 
on my way to Coire. 

After partaking of his good cheer, and hav- 
ing agreed with mine host for a char and his ser- 
vices to take me to Bellinzona, by the St. Ber- 
nardin, for fifty francs, we parted from Andeer, 
and soon after from the valley of Schams. Leav- 
ing the old castle of Barenburg on the right, we 
ascended by a zig-zag route to the gorge of Rofla, 
through which the Rhine thunders amidst the 
rocks which check its descent. The road crosses 
the end of the Val Ferrara by a bridge, over a mag- 
nificent cataract of the A versa, at the confluence 
of this river with the Hinter-Rhin. Throughout 
its course in the defile of Rofla, the Rhine forms 
a succession of falls amidst scenes of the wildest 
and most savage character. The height of the 
principal fall is not considerable ; but the volume 
of water rushing out from among scathed rocks 
of gneiss and porphyry, and a ravine darkened 
by the roots and trunks of vast pines, offers a 
scene of impressive grandeur. In the gorge there 
are several saw-mills, where the trees that are 
felled in the forests which clothe the mountains 



RHINWALD. 



299 



above, are cut into planks. These trees are brought 
down by the slide, mentioned in my journey to 
Coire. # This gorge is left by a gallery of about 
twenty paces in length, which opens into the Rhin- 
wald. The village of Suvers, which lies in the old 
route, is seen across the valley on the right. Soon 
after, the road traverses the river, and continues 
on the left bank of the Hinter-Rhin. We only 
rested at the village of Splugen whilst I sketched 
the covered bridge over the river which leads to 
the pass of the Splugen. 

We now continued to ascend the left bank of 
the Rhine, and our route as far as Naufanen, where 
we rested, had little variety : the ascent was very 
gradual ; the valley, for its elevation, broad : 
barley was much cultivated. There was a quiet 
character in the scenes of the upper valley not 
varied enough for beauty, nor savage enough for 
the sublime. 

The care with which the forests of the Rhin- 
wald, above Splugen, are preserved, is strongly 
contrasted with their destruction around the val- 
ley of Schams. In many parts of the Grisons they 
consider, that with the removal of the forests the 
winters have become more severe, and vegetation 
is checked where it used to flourish. 

We rested at the little village of Naufanen. 



* See page 280. 



300 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



My guide, the postmaster, hinted, before our 
arrival, that he was in love with one of the 
daughters of the house where he intended to take 
me to rest for the night. The alacrity with which 
he left his home to accompany me was now ac- 
counted for. He had looked high in his love ; for 
the lady he introduced me to was a young giantess, 
whilst he was below the average magnitude of 
man : she was the first of the family who came 
out to welcome him, knowing, probably, the cha- 
riot-wheels of her lover. I was never more sur- 
prised than at the appearance of mine host and 
his children, by whom, as a stranger, I was 
cordially received. The father, a very fine man, 
about fifty, a most respectable farmer, and land- 
ammann of the district, was nearly seven feet high, 
his wife was above six feet, and of seven or eight 
children, sons and daughters — the former were all 
above six feet six, and the girls above six feet. 
I never saw such a family. As the father was 
considered one of the most wealthy and influen- 
tial men in the Rhinwald, the young postmaster 
has hitherto not ventured to tell his tale to the 
landammann, fearing that " the stream of true 
love never will run smooth;" but he said he was 
determined to break his mind to him on his re- 
turn from Bellinzona. 

After being exceedingly well entertained, I 
retired ; and, from the window of my chamber, 



MOONLIGHT ON THE GLACIERS. 301 



looked down the valley towards the glaciers which 
cover the mountains east of the Splugen; nothing 
could be more beautiful and tranquil than the 
scene. The bright full moon beamed her pale 
light over the mountains, giving to the glaciers 
a delicate brilliancy, and to the mist in the valley 
a gray and softened tone, as it subsided into depth 
and darkness. 



302 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Hinter-Rhin — Ascent to the Pass of the St. Bernardin — Sum- 
mit — Policy of the Grisons — Expense and Advantages of 
the New Road — Opposition of the Austrian Government — 
Village and Baths of St. Bernardin — Falls of the Moesa — 
Misocco — Castle of Misocco — Fall of Buffalora — Val 
Misocco — Val Levantine — Bellinzona. 

Sept. 3d. — My guide, the postmaster, was up 
before any one was stirring except his lady-love. 
After a hasty cup of coffee, an early departure 
took us, in the fresh of the morning, up the valley 
to the village of Hinter-Rhin. Near to it we 
crossed the river, and ascended by the new road 
of the Grisons which leads to Bellinzona by the 
St. Bernardin. Before ascending the tourniquets 
of the road, we looked up the valley and saw the 
glaciers which are the southern source of the 
Rhine, and the ravines through which its course 
lies before it reaches the little spread-out and 
sterile valley below Hinter-Rhin. 

The turns of the new road winding up the col 
of the St. Bernardin, on the ridge which divides 
the Moschel from the Schwarzhorn, were rather 
abrupt and numerous before the summit was at- 



COL OF THE ST. BERNARDIN. 



303 



tained, and not free from the danger of avalanches ; 
for, in the month of March in last year, the dili- 
gence from Coire to Bellinzona was nearly de- 
stroyed by one. The passengers were walking 
when the alarm was given, and two were swept 
off in its course ; one of them was the landammann 
of Roveredo, in the Val Misocco. 

The road ascends between lofty mountains to 
a plain on the summit, where there is a lake, 
the source of the Mo'esa. An inn, established there 
as a house of refuge, is near its borders. The 
scene around is wretchedly dreary. The elevation 
of the col above the valley of the Hinter-Rhin is 
nearly 2000 English feet, and above the level of 
the sea about 7100. The sound judgment and 
liberal policy which enabled the government of 
the canton of the Grisons to foresee the utility and 
incur the expense of undertaking the construc- 
tion of this new road over the St. Bernardin, 
cannot be too highly praised : commercial and 
social advantages were the only considerations. 
Their country was to be benefitted; and, instead 
of the miserable policy pursued by Sardinia, under 
the cunning suggestions of Austria, not to allow 
good roads to be constructed lest they should faci- 
litate invasion, the people of the Grisons wisely 
looked at the immediate benefit to the commu- 
nity rather than to the remote evil of military in- 
road, which always has its remedy in the facility 



304 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



with which such roads may be destroyed and ren- 
dered impassable : the labour of a few days will 
destroy what it required years to construct. 

Before the completion of the Simplon and the 
Cenis, the only roads practicable across the Alps 
for carriages were those of the Brenner and the 
Tende — passes which are situated almost at the 
extremities of the great chain, and formed merely 
to open a more free communication between states 
and provinces subject to the same government. 
Now, however, national jealousies have been re- 
moved, and a more enlightened policy has ex- 
tended commercial intercourse, mule-paths have 
been superseded by carriage-roads ; and, where it 
has not been inconsistent with their political views, 
even the governments of Austria, Sardinia, and 
Switzerland, have not only carefully preserved the 
routes in the great lines of communication which 
were made by Napoleon, for military or commer- 
cial purposes, but they have made other roads on 
the frontiers across the Alps. In liberal policy no 
state has displayed more energy than that of the 
Grisons. The completion of the route of the St. 
Bernardin, and the improvements contemplated 
on the Julier, are honourable evidence of its enter- 
prise and perseverance, in defiance of the intrigues 
and interruptions of the Austrian government 

The authorities of the canton of the Grisons, 
in the year 1816, turned their attention to the 



NEW ROAD OVER THE ST. BERNARDIN. 305 

formation of a road, practicable for carriages, 
across the mountain of the St. Bernardin. It held 
out the prospect of enriching their state by the 
transit of merchandise from the Mediterranean ; 
to Switzerland, to Germany, and, by the Rhine, 
to Holland ; and as their canton extended to both 
sides of the Alps, from the Rhinwald to the valley 
of Misocco, they possessed great facilities for its ac- 
complishment. The money, however, required for 
this undertaking greatly exceeded the means of the 
canton; a company, therefore, was formed for rais- 
ing it by shares, and contributions were also received 
towards the attainment of this object. The people 
of the canton who lived on the line of the pro- 
jected road, advanced 60,000 Swiss francs ; and 
the King of Sardinia, in w T hom the project found 
a ready advocate, by a convention made in 1813 
with the government of the Grisons, contributed 
280,000 francs, which was afterwards extended to 
395,000 ; and further agreed to allow the annual 
transit, free of duty, of 30,000 quintals of grain 
and rice from Sardinia into the Grisons ; he also 
tendered his good offices and interference, wher- 
ever they could be employed, in aid of the enter- 
prise. The government of Sardinia here appre- 
ciated the advantage which it would gain by the 
projected route, as the new roads through Piemont 
from Genoa, to Arona on the Lago Maggiore, and 
thence by the lake to Locarno, opened a new 



306 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



source of commercial enterprise to the subjects of 
Sardinia. 

The formation of the new route over the St. 
Bernardin was begun in the year 1818, and the 
execution of the works was confided to M. Poco- 
belli, known as the engineer of the route from 
Bellinzona to Lugano, by the Monte Cenere. 

In the year 1824, the route was completed 
through an extent of twenty-four leagues. From 
Coire to the summit of the St. Bernardin, distant 
fifteen leagues, the road rises 5113 English feet; 
and from the summit to Bellinzona, distant eleven 
leagues and a half, the descent is 6289 feet. The 
expense of constructing the road, including the 
compensation to proprietors on its line, did not 
amount to 80,000/. sterling, Wood, and common 
lands, were granted by the government. 

Formerly the bailliage of Chiavenna was an- 
nexed to the Grisons, and free intercourse existed 
between this canton and the Lake of Como, by 
the Splugen. The transit of merchandise was 
lightly taxed, merely to keep the road in repair, 
and the Grisons did not feel the necessity of 
making the route of the St. Bernardin more prac- 
ticable than that of the Splugen, which was open 
to them for beasts of burden : but when, after the 
expulsion of Napoleon, the Italian bailliages were 
annexed to Lombardy, and the power of the Aus- 
trian government extended to the summit of the 



AUSTRIAN JEALOUSY. 



307 



Splugen, then the establishment of the new road be- 
came of the highest importance to the people of the 
Grisons; for their commerce was restrained by tolls 
and duties, exacted on the route of the Splugen. 

The new line of road promised important ad- 
vantages also to the people of the canton of the 
Tessin ; and upon the proposition of the Grisons 
to construct the route over the St. Bernardin, the 
government of the former canton promised a sub- 
sidy. In the course of their negotiations in 1817, 
they agreed to advance 200,000 francs in aid of 
the undertaking, and to complete the little space 
of road from St. Vittore, the frontier village of 
the Grisons, in the Val Misocco, to Bellinzona. 
Whilst the parties waited for the ratification of 
this agreement by the grand council of the Tessin, 
the Austrian government sent emissaries into the 
canton, who resorted to every means in their power 
to stop the progress of the new road of the St. Ber- 
nardin, and to restrain the assistance which the 
people of the Tessin were disposed to give to that 
object. Threats and bribery were successful ; the 
ratification was refused by the sovereign council of 
the Tessin, and this government, without scruple, 
sacrificed the commercial interests of its people, by 
opposing the measure, and favouring the transit of 
merchandise by the Splugen. It not only ceased 
to encourage the passage by the St. Bernardin, but 
it inflicted military punishment upon some of its 



308 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



subjects, inhabitants of the village of Lumino, for 
having assisted its accomplishment by labouring 
to make that part of the route which lay through 
their territory passable for carriages. Efforts were 
also made by the Austrian authorities to influence, 
in the same way as they had in the Tessin, the 
patriotic members of the Grisons government, but 
without effect \ they resisted with as much dignity 
as resolution, and in turn threatened to destroy 
the route of the Splugen on their side of the moun- 1 
tain, if the completion of the road of the St. Ber- 
nardin, between St. Vittore and Bellinzona, were 
.any longer delayed through the intrigues of the 
Austrian emissaries. This bold and independent 
spirit, aided by the mediation of the King of Sar- 
dinia, at length succeeded, and the entire route 
of the St. Bernardin has now been accomplished. 

The Austro-Lombard government foresaw that 
the establishment of the new road of the St. Ber- 
nardin would affect the commerce of the Splugen ; 
and as early as that was begun, commenced a new 
road over the Splugen, to render this mountain also 
practicable for carriages ; but neither the new road 
of the Splugen, nor the intrigues of the emissaries, 
could deter the Grisons from proceeding with that 
of the St. Bernardin. The Austrians constructed an 
admirable road on their side of the Splugen to the 
summit, under the direction of the able engineer 
Donnegana ; and they expected that the Grisons, 



VILLAGE OF ST. BERNARDIN. 309 

availing themselves of the accomplishment of the 
Austrian road to their frontier, would at least com- 
plete it to the village of Splugen, where it unites 
with the new route of the St. Bernardin ; but, ad- 
vantageous as it would be to the Grisons to have 
also a carriage-road communicating with Lom- 
bard y, they were too much exhausted by the ex- 
penses of the St. Bernardin to undertake it. After 
some negotiation, the Grisons gave permission to 
the Austrians to complete it themselves • and the 
people of this canton now enjoy the advantages of 
two great roads across the Alps leading to their 
canton. By the St. Bernardin, travellers may post 
in a day's journey from Coire to Bellinzona; and 
merchandise may be transported in four or five 
days, which formerly required eleven or twelve. 

From the lake on the summit, the source of 
the Moesa, the road winds down the Italian side, 
near the course of the river, which it crosses at the 
bridge of Victor-Emanuel ; a name given, in com- 
pliment to the king of Sardinia, to a fine arch which 
spans the torrent 120 feet above its bed. The 
road continues to descend, by a succession of zig- 
zags, to the village of St. Bernardin, the highest 
on the Italian side, and situated upwards of 6000 
feet above the level of the sea, amidst a dreary 
scene. There are mineral baths at St. Bernardin, 
which are frequented in summer. Two tolerable 
inns accommodate the visitors, who are usually 



310 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



people from Italy and the Grisons : nearly fifty 
persons, have rested and spent some part of this 
season there. A continuation of tourniquets, or 
zig-zag courses of the road, wind rapidly down to 
the village of St. Giacomo, and thence to Misocco. 
the chief place of the valley. 

Below St. Bernardin the pines reappear, and 
soon after the fine forms and rich foliage of the 
chestnut-trees. There are many fine falls of the 
Mo'esa in the descent to Misocco, especially one 
on the left near St. Giacomo. To view it well, I 
left the road, and went a little way into a forest, 
to a spot whence I saw the whole river tumbling 
down amidst the rocks in broken and abrupt 
masses, and throwing up the spray, on which an 
iris sported in the rays of the sun. 

At Misocco we rested to refresh the horse and 
ourselves, at a good inn, where a travellers' book 
is kept, and where the innkeeper was as inquisitive 
and loquacious as his prototypes are said to be in 
America. Immediately below Misocco the beau- 
ties of the valley rapidly increase, and one scene 
in particular is unrivalled even in the Grisons. It 
is just below Misocco, where the ruins of its old 
castle crown a vast rock or hill that juts into the 
vallev ; and whilst it divides the upper from the 
lower Val Misocco, commands the communication 
between them, overhanging the torrent on one 
side 3 and the zig-zag road on the other. 



CASTLE OF MISOCCO. 



311 



In looking towards the lower valley, on ap- 
proaching the castle, the range of mountains is 
seen on the right which separates the valleys of 
Misocco and Calanka ; and on the left are the 
precipitous bases of the Monte Roggioni and the 
Monte Luadre. Down the side of the latter, 
amidst rocks and woods, several cataracts descend 
into the Mo'esa, which deeply rolls through a 
defile on the left of the castle. Below the ruins 
are seen the church of Soazza and the lower valley 
of Misocco. 

The early history of the castle of Misocco is 
obscure, but conjecture has attributed its erection 
to the Goths, who availed themselves of its com- 
manding situation to guard the pass of the St. 
Bernardin against the irruptions of the Franks 
into Rhsetia. It was possessed by the Barons de 
Sax from 933 to 1482, when it was sold, with 
the valley of Misocco, to the celebrated and noble 
Milanese, Trivulzio, under whom the people of 
the valley became free citizens of the Grisons. 
He greatly distinguished himself in the wars of 
Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 

The change is very striking, from the cold, and 
its restraints upon vegetation on the St. Bernardin, 
to the climate immediately below Misocco, where 
the vine flourishes, Indian corn is raised, and the 
mulberry tree is successfully cultivated for silk- 
worms : here the sun darts his southern rays 



312 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



upon the traveller, who, two or three hours before, 
shivered in the bleak and cold regions of the Alps. 

Soon after leaving the castle of Misocco, the 
traveller arrives at Buffalora — a spot remarkable 
for a very fine cataract, where, early in the after- 
noon, the sun may be seen shining through the 
torrent, as it descends from a great height in a 
single jet : the water, in dispersing into mist, 
intercepts the sun's rays, and exhibits a blaze of 
illumined particles : it is singular and beautiful 
to observe a waterfall under such circumstances^ 
There is no valley in the Alps into which such 
numerous, varied, and beautiful cascades descend 
as into the Val Misocco. 

From Lostallo, three quarters of a post below 
Misocco, the distance to Bellinzona is only a post 
and a half ; the descent is so gradual through the 
valley below the castle of Misocco, that in four 
leagues it does not exceed 800 feet. Before arriv- 
ing at Roveredo, the traveller passes the ruins of 
the castles of Grono and Calanka. Formerly, a 
pass existed by the valley of Calanka into the 
Grisons over the Mont Adula, and near the source 
of the Hinter-Rhine ; but an extension of the gla- 
ciers has destroyed this route entirely. Roveredo 
is the chief town of the lower Val Misocco ; below 
this place the valley widens. About a league from 
Roveredo is St. Vittore, the last village in the 
canton of the Grisons. The canton of the Tessin 



BELLINZONA. 



313 



commences at the village of Lumino. Shortly 
after, the Val Levantine is entered, where the 
Moesa joins the Tessin, which flows from the St. 
Gothard. At a short distance from the conflu- 
ence, we reached Beilinzona, where the Albergo 
del'Aquila offered us tolerable accommodation ; 
but the inns on the side of Italy are inferior in 
cleanliness and comfort to those in the Grisons. 



p 



314 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Bellinzona — Valley of Riviera — Sementino — Locarno — Lago 
Maggiore — Catholicism — Val Levantine— Val Blegno — 
Giornico — Dazio Grande — Val Piota — Pass of Stalvedro — 
Val Bedretto — Airolo — Ascent of the St. Gothard — Val 
Treraola — Summit — Hospice — St. Gothard — Descent to 
Val Ursern — Andermatt — Trou d'Uri — Devil's Bridge — 
Contest of the French and Russians — Krachenthal — 
Goschenen — Amstag — Swiss Soldiers — Altorf. 

September 4:th.> — After parting with my civil 
guide, Jacques Faar, who returned early to his 
dear giantess at Naufanen, and his post-house at 
Andeer, I strolled round Bellinzona; but I was 
disappointed in not finding it picturesque ; or rather, 
that, in spite of its beautiful situation amidst the 
mountains, and the varied surface of the ground 
upon which its three castles are placed, it pre- 
sents from every near point of view long lines of 
embrasured walls, that destroy the picturesque. 

Bellinzona is the key to Switzerland by the 
various passes which debouche into the Val Le- 
vantine : to the forest cantons, by the St. Gothard ; 
to Dissentis, and the valley of the Vorder Rhin, 
by the Lukmanier ; and to the pass of the Ber- 
nardin, by the valley of Misocco. The important 
station of Bellinzona has exposed it to sieges and 



VALLEY OF RIVIERA. 



315 



suffering in every contest in which the Swiss have 
been involved. The Alps afforded to the people 
of this city little protection from the hordes of 
early barbarians who descended through the Val 
Levantine, or from the later barbarians of the 
French army, who, at the end of the eighteenth 
century, in the desire to extend the blessings of 
their republicanism, made a reckless sacrifice of 
the property, the liberty, and the lives of the 
Swiss. Bellinzona, though the chief place of the 
canton, is the seat of its government only alter- 
nately with Locarno and Lugano. 

I hired a light voiture to take me to Locarno ; 
and, after crossing the Tessin by a fine bridge, 
drove through the valley of Riviera, which, from 
the course of the Tessin through it to that part of 
Lago Maggiore which bears the name of the Lake 
of Locarno, is in fact a continuation of the Val 
Levantine. The road to Locarno passes by the 
western side of the valley, under the Mont Carasso, 
which is richly wooded, and the country is in a 
state of high cultivation, and abounding with all 
the productions of northern Italy. However un- 
picturesque Bellinzona may be, near to or within 
its walls, it is a fine object in all the views of the 
valley of which it forms a feature. The scenery at 
the bridge of Sementino is particularly striking, 
where, at the end of a deep recess in the mountain- 
side, a torrent is seen pouring out from the summit 



316 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



into the valley, and the church of Sementino 
crowning the rocks high above the village and the 
vineyards : these are backed by the Mont Carasso. 
The eye then sweeping on the right from the base 
of this mountain, takes in the city of Bellinzona 
and the distant Alps, which terminate the valleys 
that lead up to the Bernardin and the St. Gothard. 
Across the rich plain of the Riviera, the road may 
be traced on the Monte Cenere, which leads from 
Bellinzona to the Lake of Lugano. 

From Sementino the ride is very beautiful 
through delightfully situated villages all the way 
to Locarno. If an idea of the appearance of the 
peasantry of the Tessin have been formed from the 
prints of the costume of the canton, the traveller 
will not find any to agree with them ; for though 
the day was a fete, and it is only then that any 
thing like the canton costumes can be fairly seen 
in any part of Switzerland, rags disguised the form, 
and dirt concealed the colour, of the nasty race 
who infest this valley: the men were so forbidding 
as to excite disgust, and were only one degree better 
than the women. The people of the canton bear 
a bad character, which, if it had not its origin in 
their squalid villanous appearance, is singularly 
in accordance with it. My guide, a native of Bel- 
linzona, was full of unfavourable tales of the people 
of the valley below his city, though the distance is 
only nine miles from Bellinzona to Locarno. 



LAKE OF LOCARNO. 



317 



Having arrived at Locarno, I ordered a boat 
to take me on the lake, and was rowed down to 
Brissago on the western side, where part of the 
road is formed which the government of Turin, in 
conjunction with the people of the Tessin and the 
Grisons, is constructing along the western shores 
of the Lago Maggiore, to facilitate the commercial 
communications, between Genoa and the Grisons, 
by the pass of the St. Bernardin, and with Swit- 
zerland, by a contemplated carriage-road over the 
St. Gothard. I spent the greater part of the day 
on the water, delighted with the brightness and 
beauty of the weather, the calm freshness on the 
lake, and the richness of the vegetation on its 
shores, where tha fig, the olive, the pomegranate, 
and the orange ripen ; and the myrtle and the 
jasmine bloom in the hedges. 

Locarno is finely situated near the junction of 
many valleys — the Tessin, the Verasca, the Maggia, 
and the Centovalle: these, with the mountains, the 
lake, and the villages on its shores, present much 
variety in the scenery, and from every elevation, 
views of great beauty, particularly from one height, 
near the convent of Madonna del Sasso. 

In the evening I returned to Bellinzona, by 
the same rich valley, and scarcely saw an ex- 
ception to squalid poverty in the people. It is 
impossible to notice the filth, the laziness, and 
beggary of the inhabitants of the Catholic cantons 



318 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS, 



of Switzerland — of these the Tessin are perhaps the 
worst — without believing that the religion of the 
state in which these unfortunate people live is either 
a direct or the remote cause of their state of degra- 
dation, or that it operates as a powerful check to 
their advancement to such a state of social comfort 
and moral worth as their neighbours enjoy, who 
are less under the terrors of the Catholic church, 
and the influence of its priesthood. Where the con- 
fessional subjects every one to the chance of the 
abuses of its privileges, no man's cottage is a sanc- 
tuary from the intrusions of the priest, whose vio- 
lations of decorum, and abuses of the confidence 
which he claims for his calling, become an ex- 
ample which his precepts cannot check : so much 
for the minister. Then the church demands, to 
sustain its influence and prove its power, so great 
a portion of the time of the labouring man, that 
fetes, fasts, and processions, in honour of the Vir- 
gin and the saints, take one-third of the hours God 
has given to him for labour. 

It is not, then, to be wondered at, that a people 
controlled by such religious observances as give a 
master to each man's mind, and can claim, under 
penalty, the utter waste of so much of his time, 
should lose the use of energies they dare not 
display, and be impoverished by being robbed of 
that time which, usefully employed, would esta- 
blish habits of industry, and reward their exercise 



INFLUENCE OF CATHOLICISM. 



319 



with health and competence. It is not prejudice, 
but a fact, that the line which separates a Catholic 
from a Protestant canton is more decidedly marked 
by the squalid and poverty-stricken appearance of 
the people in one, contrasted with the look of in- 
dependence among those of the other, than by any 
geographical line of demarcation. 

In the latter part of the sixteenth century, 
St. Carlo Borromeo, horrified at the progress 
which the doctrines of Luther were making in 
the Tessin, visited himself the valleys of Switzer- 
land ; and, whatever may have been his liberality 
with regard to worldly goods, and zeal to reform 
abuses in his own church, a more intolerant bigot 
in favour of its doctrines was scarcely to be found. 
The violence with which he pursued the reformers 
in the valley of Misocco, and urged their extir- 
pation, led to a system of persecution, in which 
burning, confiscation, and banishment, were de- 
manded by the church of Rome, in vindication of 
its temporal and fast-fading power. 

5th. — I hired a light voiture last night, and 
started early to ascend the Val Levantine, having 
first tasted at a cafe the acqua di cedro for which 
the guide-books have celebrated Bellinzona more 
than it deserved. 

Soon after leaving the capital of the Tessin, my 
new conductor drove me across the Mo'esa ; and 
about eight miles above it, near Biasco, we passed 



320 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



the entrance to the Val Blegno. I could see, 
from our route in the Val Levantine, the vast 
debris of the mountain which fell across the 
Val Blegno in the year 1512. The fallen mass 
arrested the course of the river Blegno, and 
formed a large lake, which continued above 200 
years. In 1714 it burst a passage, and swept all 
within its power into the Lago Maggiore. Trees 
and pasturages now so far conceal this accumu- 
lation in the valley, that it would scarcely be 
noticed but for the tale of its dreadful disruption. 
There is little to excite attention in the Val Le- 
vantine, at least before the traveller arrives near 
Giornico : here the vast blocks of granite which 
have fallen into the bed of the torrent interrupt 
its course, and produce a succession of cataracts, 
which, seen through the ramifications of enormous 
chestnut-trees, that are firmly rooted between the 
rocks, have a highly picturesque appearance. 

A little way above Giornico, on the road to 
Faido, I passed over the scene of action where, 
in 1478, a battle was fought and won by the 
Swiss against the Milanese. The quarrel was 
about a wood of chestnuts; and the Pope's nuncio, 
instead of acting as his character demanded, the 
part of a peace-maker, fomented the dispute until 
it produced the battle, which was rendered me- 
morable by a ruse de guerre practised by a Cap- 
tain Stanga, who commanded some of the troops of 



DAZIO GRANDE. 



321 



the country. It was fought in winter ; and Stanga 
advised his men to turn the waters of the Tessin 
over the roads and meadows, and to provide them- 
selves with crampons (spikes for their shoes). On 
the morning of the battle the field of action was 
covered with ice, and the disadvantage under which 
the Milanese thus fought contributed greatly to the 
success of the Swiss army. 

We rested to refresh the horse at Faido, the 
principal town between Bellinzona and the St. 
Gothard. Here vines terminate, and the country 
assumes a more alpine character. The scenery, 
however, is rather tame at Faido ; there is a fine 
waterfall near it, it is true; but in a country where 
waterfalls are as common as blackberries, it re- 
quires some striking peculiarity to engage the 
attention of the traveller. 

About a league and a half above Faido is the 
Dazio Grande — a deep gorge, which takes its 
name from the establishment of a toll-house at the 
upper end of the ravine, where a tax is levied, to 
pay for the repairs which are constantly occurring 
in the defile, from the dilapidation of the arched 
terraces upon which the road is carried, or of the 
walls and garde-fous, which prevent the traveller 
falling over into the foaming torrent ; but the 
ravine, to have attained any celebrity for les belles 
horreurs, is the most uninteresting that I have 
passed through. 

p 2 



322 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Above the Dazio the road enters the valley or 
plain of Piota, which is industriously cultivated, 
and, considering its elevation (3000 feet above the 
sea), very productive. This valley extends nearly 
two leagues through its course to the defile of the 
Stalvedro. The snowy mountains of St. Gothard 
tower over the lower ranges which terminate the 
plain, and the bases of mountains which form the 
ravine of Stalvedro sink to the insignificant ap- 
pearance of a dike ; though in itself lofty and 
grand when the traveller passes beneath the vast 
overhanging rocks, between which the Tessin forces 
its way, scarcely leaving room enough for a road 
to pass along its bank. Over the rock, on the left, 
is a watch-tower, supposed to have been built by 
one of the latest of the Lombard kings, who was 
conquered by Charlemagne, as it still bears the 
name of the tower of Desiderio. On passing this 
defile, the traveller enters the Val Bedretto, which 
leads, on the left, over the great chain, by the pass 
of the Naufanen, to the Ober-Valais. 

The Val Bedretto terminates in a basin within 
the defile of Stalvedro, and about two miles from 
it is the little town of Airolo, at the foot of the 
St. Gothard. I was struck with the commercial 
bustle of the place : great numbers of mules, 
laden with merchandise, were constantly pass- 
ing, and the inn wanted the quiet and retired 
character of a mountain auberge. Here I met a 



AIROLO. 



323 



French gentleman and his son, who had this day 
returned from an attempt to pass the Ober- Alp : he 
said the wind was so high on the mountains, that, 
unable to make way against it, though they tried 
on their knees, they had returned to Airolo, to pass 
by the Val Bedretto and the Naufanen. Now all 
this proved too much. The most urgent business 
would not induce any man to climb mountains on 
his knees ; and, to shew that business was not a 
motive to such exertion, he returned from attempt- 
ing a passage to the eastward, to make another 
which led only to the west. 

I was informed at the inn at Airolo, that the 
engineers had left it only the day before, after 
having been engaged in surveying a line on the 
mountain, preparatory to the construction of a 
carriage -road over the St. Gothard, and that 
the operations would very soon be commenced. 
That by which I have travelled from Bellinzona 
would require little improvement ; and from Go- 
schenen, on the northern side of the mountain, I 
am informed that the road is good to Fluelen, 
on the lake of Uri. I have hired a guide to carry 
my luggage and conduct me to Altorf to-morrow, 
and dismissed my voiturier, contented with a Na- 
poleon for his services during a long day's journey 
from Bellinzona to Airolo. 

6th. — We started early, up one side of the 
basin of the Val Bedretto, by a paved mule-path, 



324 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



and soon reached the skirts of the last pine-forest 
at the Capella del Boseo. The scene looking back 
upon Airolo is extensive ; for the eye commands a 
view of the Val Levantine, over the gorge of Stal- 
vedro, to the Val Piota, and, far distant, the 
boundary formed by the mountains on the right of 
the Hinter-Rhin. At the Capella del Bosco, the 
muleteers usually pray for protection over the pass, 
or, in descending, offer their thanksgivings for a 
safe journey. 

A zig-zag path leads up through the wood to 
the Val Tremola, where there are fine pasturages ; 
but towards the pass the mountains close in, and 
scarcely leave room for the mule-path and the 
torrent which passes through it. Before entering 
the defile, the road crosses a miserable stone bridge 
without parapets. " It is not," says Simler, a 
Swiss historian, " that the bridge trembles, and is 
therefore called the Ponte Tremola, but that the 
passengers here begin to shake and tremble with 
dread at the sight of the ravine, and fear of the 
dangers which they have to encounter there." We 
passed it without the clue exhibition of terror ; and 
at the upper extremity we found an abrupt and 
rugged ascent to the summit of the St. Gothard, 
amidst blocks of granite, which, wildly strewn 
about, present dangerous precipices in the path, 
and savage desolation all around. This was the 
scene of a severe contest on the 24th of September, 



PASS OF THE ST. GOTHARD. 



325 



1799, between the Russians and the French, when 
the latter were defeated. Rudely cut on a rock, 
to commemorate the event, can still be traced 
suwaroff, victor ; but the victory was use- 
less : the French fought to prevent the junction 
of Suwaroff with the Imperialists, and the French 
generals, by their skill and successes, subsequently 
attained that object, and compelled the Russians 
to make the celebrated retreat of the Muottathal. 

The desolate summit of the St. Gothard pass, 
6500 feet above the level of the sea, scarcely de- 
serves the name of a plain. The path winds over 
varied and broken ground, to the inn, which is 
situated at the greatest elevation of the pass : it 
serves as a place of shelter, but the accommoda- 
tions are miserable. Here, however, we rested. 
My guide thought himself in capital quarters ; 
drank the thin wine as if it had been nectar on 
Olympus, instead of swipes on St. Gothard ; and 
gave me, whilst he chose to rest, time enough to 
write to my friends in England. 

Formerly, there was a small convent, or hos- 
pice, on this summit ; it existed as early as the 
thirteenth century, and was one of those benevolent 
establishments that were founded upon the alpine 
passes where there was much intercourse, for the 
relief and protection of travellers. It was destroyed 
by an avalanche in 1775 ; two years later it was 
rebuilt upon a larger scale. In 1799 it was pil- 



326 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



laged by the French army ; and some soldiers of 
that nation being stationed there daily during the 
following winter, they burnt all the wood of the 
building which they could collect, and left it a 
ruin, from which it has never been restored. 

On leaving the hospice to descend the valley 
of the Reuss, the rudely paved road wound be- 
tween several lakes, the sources of the rivers 
which stream from each side of the mountain, the 
Tessin flowing towards Italy, and the Reuss to- 
wards the Lake of Uri. The largest of the lakes 
on the summit is called the Lucendro, and it is the 
principal source of the Reuss. The scene on the 
summit is wild and desolate, surrounded by high 
mountains, which are surmounted by snows and 
glaciers, where an impressive silence reigns, which 
is scarcely ever broken, except by the bells of the 
passing mules, or the song of the muleteer. 

The origin of the present name of this moun- 
tain, Saint Gothard, has been as perplexing as its 
early history; some, deriving it from the Celtic 
words got and arth, suppose that it owed its name 
to the worship of a divinity on this high moun- 
tain ; others derive it from the Goths, who, 
w 7 hen they were driven out of Italy, in the sixth 
century, established themselves in the valleys of 
the canton of Uri ; but the most probable origin 
of the name is from a chapel dedicated to Saint 
Gothard, who was a bishop of Hildesheim in the 



VAL URSERN. 



327 



twelfth century, in honour of whom the abbots of 
Dissentis raised a chapel on these heights, which 
were within their jurisdiction. What is known 
concerning this pass in the dark ages, has been 
chiefly preserved in the archives of the convent of 
Dissentis. 

From the lakes on the summit the road de- 
scends over broken and rocky ground, towards 
the valley of Ursern, through which the Reuss 
flows in its descent to the Lake of Uri ; and there 
is no relief to the traveller from an uniform 
sterility, until he arrive at the village of Hospital, 
or Hospenthal, where there was formerly a hos- 
pice, founded in the thirteenth century, for the 
benefit and assistance of those who passed that 
way. It is situated in that part of the Val Ursern 
which spreads out into a little plain, having, at 
its north-eastern extremity, the village of Ander- 
matt, at the foot of the passage which leads to 
Dissentis by the Ober-Alp; and in the opposite 
direction, a road by the Val Ursern leads over the 
Furca to the Valais. The appearance of Hospital 
is rather picturesque, from a tower, the remains of 
an old castle, but there is no wood in the valley ; 
a small pine-forest above Andermatt, which was 
formerly preserved most scrupulously, as a check 
to the avalanches which threaten destruction to 
the village, was destroyed during the campaign 
of 1799. 



328 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



The meadows which the road crosses to arrive 
at the village of Andermatt are tranquil even to 
solitude. Here I had excellent fare at a com- 
fortable inn, and made amends for the privations 
at the miserable hut on the summit ; and I found 
in the travellers' book the records of many adven- 
turous excursions, and the names of many friends. 
This means of recalling the memory of those who 
have gone before us on the same route, is a source 
of high gratification. The character of repose in 
the little plain of Andermatt is strongly contrasted 
with the scene upon which I entered when I left 
the Val Ursern to follow the course of the Reuss. 
The road lay through a gallery pierced in the 
rock which overhangs the river, and around which 
there was formerly fixed a frame or scaffolding, 
upon which travellers and beasts of burden were 
obliged to make their dangerous passage. The 
present road, through the granite rock, was made 
in 1707, at the expense of the canton of Uri ; 
it is two hundred and twenty feet long, and in 
height and breadth twelve feet ; it bears the 
name of the Urnerloch. From the gallery, a 
steep path leads down to the Devil's Bridge, 
where a single arch of seventy feet span, one hun- 
dred feet above the cataract, is thrown across the 
torrent, which rushes obliquely beneath, and de- 
scends, within a short distance, above three hun- 
dred feet. It is not possible to conceive a more 



devil's bridge. 



329 



appalling scene than that which is presented at 
the Devil's Bridge, by the height of the rocks, 
the narrowness of the defile, and the roar and rush 
of the torrent beneath. On the lower side of the 
ravine, the road, or rather the path, by which the 
bridge is left in passing through the gorge, is 
partly cut out of the vast wall of rock which rises 
immediately above the road to a great height, and 
partly rests on arches firmly built into the rough 
surface of the rocks beneath, which serve to sup- 
port the road as a terrace. The sides of the rock 
below the path descend perpendicularly to the 
torrent ; and a low wall on the border of the ter- 
raced road is the only protection from the danger 
of falling into the horrible abyss beneath. The 
waters of the Reuss, in descending to the bridge, 
turn abruptly to the right to pass beneath the 
arch, and then appear to rush with increased rage 
and violence, from the momentary restraint which 
they encountered from the angle in the gulf. The 
bridge itself does not contribute much to the sub- 
lime impression which the scene makes, unless the 
spectator be upon it ; but it is impossible to think 
of such a structure, in such a situation, without 
shuddering at the idea of the danger to which 
those who built it must have been exposed. Muller 
conjectures that the Devil's Bridge was originally 
a work of the Lombard kings, whose dominions 
extended northward to the valley of the Reuss. 



330 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



The fearful emotions excited by these scenes 
are increased by the recollection that it was here 
some dreadful contests took place between the 
French and the Imperialists during the campaign 
of 1799. For the following account, from the 
" Precis des Evenemens Militaires," by the Comte 
Dumas, it would be difficult to find a parallel. 
On the 15th of August, 1799, the French general 
Lecourbe, having joined the brigade of General 
Loison on the same day that he had carried the 
defences of the Mayenthal, advanced to secure the 
important post of the Saint Gothard, and, about 
four o'clock, met the outposts of the Imperialists, 
and forced them to fall back upon their entrench- 
ments at the Devil's Bridge; these rested upon 
the rocks on the right bank of the torrent of the 
Reuss. The French presented themselves at the 
bridge, and, charging the Austrians, reckoned 
upon passing it in the confusion with them, when, 
suddenly, the bridge disappeared between the 
parapets. Thirty feet of its length had fallen, 
with those who were fighting upon it, into the 
gulf below, and the remaining combatants were 
separated. This event forced the French grena- 
diers, who had advanced to the charge, to effect 
a retreat ; but, borne on by those who were behind 
them, they were, for some time, exposed to a 
murderous fire from the Imperialists on the oppo- 
site rocks. During the night the Austrians re- 



BATTLES AT THE DEVIl/s BRIDGE. 331 

treated by the Ober-Alp, to avoid being cut off by 
the brigade of General Gudin, who had made a 
detour by the Grimsel, and fought his way, with 
incredible difficulty, across the Furca, to fall upon 
the rear of the Imperialists ; Lecourbe's troops, 
who had, during the night, repaired the bridge, 
found Gudin's brigade, on the morning of the 
16th, on the right bank of the Reuss, in posses- 
sion of the enemy's position. The conquest of the 
pass of the Saint Gothard was the consequence, 
and, within forty-eight hours of the general move- 
ment of the French, Lecourbe was master of the 
summit and the valley by which he had ascended ; 
but this important passage was reconquered in 
little more than a month by the Russian army, 
under Suwaroff, who crossed the Saint Gothard 
to effect a junction with the Austrians. When he 
descended to Andermatt, he found that the Urner- 
loch had been blocked up, the rocks in the descent 
to the bridge blasted and strewn in the path, part 
of the bridge blown up, and other obstacles thrown 
in the way of his advance ; but the Russians, 
rendered desperate by hunger and resistance, re- 
opened the gallery, and repaired the bridge, by 
throwing beams across, and lashing them together 
with the officers' scarfs. Hundreds of soldiers fell, 
in the struggle, into the abyss of the Reuss, before 
they drove the French from their position, and 
descended into the valley between the Urneiioch 



332 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



and Goschenen. Here it is that the engineers will 
have the greatest difficulties to contend with in 
forming the new road, which it is intended to 
make practicable for carriages, by the route of 
the St. Gothard. 

From the Devil's Bridge to Goschenen the 
valley is dreary and savage. The Reuss is twice 
crossed before it reaches Goschenen : in its course 
thither it descends with so much noise, as it 
dashes over and among the rocks, that it has given 
to this part of the valley the name of the Kra- 
chenthal. Enormous masses of granite lie in the 
bed of the torrent, and on the sides of the moun- 
tains. Not far from Goschenen there is an im- 
mense block, which the people of the valley call the 
Teufelstein, and say the devil dropped it there. My 
guide believed the tale he told me, — that the devil 
was so indignant at their having given his name to 
the bridge above, that he swore he would crush it, 
and lugged this stone so far to accomplish his in- 
tention ; but he tired under his burden, and drop- 
ping it where I saw it, relinquished his vengeance. 
At Goschenen I parted with my guide, and hired 
a char about to return down the valley. After 
having crossed a mountain torrent which flows by 
the village, we entered upon a good carriage-road 
which conducts to Altorf. Below Goschenen the 
road passes beneath forests of pines, and through 
villages surrounded by cultivation. There are 



VALLEY OF THE EEUSS. 



333 



some fine points of view in descending to Amstag, 
principally from a part of the road that rises high 
above the Reuss, which is seen foaming at the 
base of a well-wooded ravine ; in the background 
of this fine scene is the lofty and beautiful form 
of the Windgelle mountain. Soon after passing 
the torrent of the Mayerbach, which descends 
from the Susten Alp, the traveller crosses the 
Reuss at the Pfaffensprung, a bridge of ninety 
feet span, at a great height above the torrent : 
the situation is striking, but from no point of view 
picturesque. Every extraordinary situation in the 
alpine districts has its tale of romance. ThePfafFen- 
sprung (the monk's leap) owes its name to the 
fact, that a monk, escaping with a damsel whom 
he was carrying off, leapt across this gulf with 
his prize ! 

Thence we descended to Amstag, a village at 
the base of the Windgelle. Just before our arrival 
there, I met some more recruits going to aid 
the King of Naples : and at the inn at Amstag, 
where we rested for a short time, the landlord 
exultingly asked me if I had not met these braves; 
- — legal bravoes would have been a much better 
name for them. There are three classes of sol- 
diers : the truly brave and honourable, those who 
defend their own homes and hearths; — the hired 
soldier, who enters upon it as a profession, honour- 
able because "one murder makes a villain — mil- 



334 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



lions a hero/' whose services are sold only to his 
country, and whose apology is honour; — the third 
class is so utterly detestable, that language cannot 
express a just indignation of wretches who can 
be proud of the dishonour of being the murdering 
tools of any despot who will hire their services to 
crush the liberties of their fellow-men. These re- 
cruits, from the country of Tell, and even from his 
native village, are going to serve Naples, and an- 
other regiment is forming for the service of Ferdi- 
nand of Spain. The truly heroic age of Switzerland 
was that in which the virtuous and patriotic leaguers 
delivered their country from the tyranny of the 
house of Hapsburg, and the control of the empire, 
from 1308 to 1476. Soon after this period, the 
people of the Waldstetten, elated with their suc- 
cesses, and conscious of their strength, began not 
only to embroil themselves in quarrels with their 
neighbours, but ultimately to hire themselves as 
soldiers to serve any foreign government, requir- 
ing little excitement to war and outrage, beyond 
the hope of gain. They were always prepared to 
draw the sword for pay ; and when their services 
were purchased by contending parties, it some- 
times happened that Swiss opposed Swiss ; then 
these hired wretches cut the throats even of their 
brethren. Their character as invincible soldiers 
was destroyed at the battles of Marignano and 
Pavia ; the charm was ended by which they had 



SWISS MERCENARIES. 



335 



often conquered ; and though their heroism was 
not less, they had suffered such repeated defeats, 
from soldiers as brave and well disciplined as 
themselves, that their blood was no longer worth 
the price which had been paid for it, and they 
returned, defeated, and driven from an infamous 
course, to the honourable employment of culti- 
vating their soil. But the tyrants who cannot 
trust their insulted subjects, can still hire in Swit- 
zerland degraded cut-throats for their dishonour- 
able service. Shame to the Swiss nation for suffer- 
ing this stain to be sanctioned by their govern- 
ments in the 19th century ! 

From Amstag to Altorf the road is excellent, 
but without much interest. The valley becomes 
richer in wood, particularly in walnut-trees; it 
is every where more cultivated, and the soil is 
very productive. Before arriving at Altorf, the 
traveller crosses the torrent which descends from 
the Val Schaechen, of which the inhabitants are 
said to be the finest race of people in Switzer- 
land. Nearly opposite to the embouchure of the 
Schaechen is the village of Attinghausen, by which 
a road passes over the Surenen Alps to the valley 
of Engleberg. It was nearly dark when I was 
welcomed at a comfortable inn close to Tell's 
Tower in Altorf. 



336 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XXL 

William Tell— The Truth of his History — Altorf— Fluelen — 
Tellen-platte — Chapel— Fete— Lake of the Waldstetten — 
Gersau — Lucerne — Monument to the Swiss of the 10th 
of August, 1792 — Annual F&te after the Harvest — Mont 
Pilate — Alpnach — Slide of Mont Pilate — Sarnen — St. 
Nicolas de Flue — Lungern — Brunig — Meyringen. 

September 1th. — I awoke this morning with the 
miserable conviction that the fine weather had 
ceased, and that the torrents which I heard pour- 
ing without would probably break in upon all my 
arrangements for the completion of my journey. 
The pelting of the pitiless storm was unceasing. 
It was dark ; I groped for my watch, and felt that 
it was four o'clock. When daylight appeared, I 
had a sort of horror of turning out and looking 
upon the change ; but when I did, I found that 
the morning was as bright and beautiful as last 
evening promised it would be, and that the fiend 
which had worried my imagination was a stream, 
working a mill, close to the inn, of which the 
sound had deceived me. 

I was now more completely in Switzerland — at 
least I had the feeling of being so — than I had 



WILLIAM TELL. 



337 



before experienced in any part of the Confedera- 
tion. I was surrounded by reminiscences of Tell, 
— I was amidst the romance, if not the reality, of his 
adventures. The tower was before me, occupying 
the site of the lime-tree near which the child stood 
when his father's skill was put to so dreadful a 
test as that of shooting an apple placed on his 
son's head. The wise matter-of-fact men of our 
days, with minds that " strain at a gnat and swal- 
low a camel," have chosen to disbelieve this story. 
Why? Because some writer has asserted that it 
is a tale of Danish origin of an earlier time than 
that of Tell. Is this a reason for discrediting the 
story? Such an event was as likely to have hap- 
pened twice as once ; and if such a tale were 
known to Gesler, it probably suggested the cruel 
conditions offered by him to Tell ; and could there 
be any conditions more probable for a tyrant to 
propose than to put so dreadfully to the test the 
skill of his victim ? If the tale of Tell, as be- 
lieved by his countrymen, be not true in all the 
leading facts, — of the apple, the storm, and the 
death of Gesler, — it is one of the most extraordi- 
nary errors into which the world was ever led ; 
and that it should have been so misled, without 
foundation, is much more incredible than any part 
of the tale of Tell ; for, if false, it is not an inven- 
tion of yesterday, but may be traced back to the 
time, or near the time, of the hero. The subject 

Q 



338 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



of Tell shooting the apple on his son's head is 
painted on the tower ; and wherever in this coun- 
try Tell is represented in sculpture or in painting, 
the arrow and the apple are considered necessary 
emblems, until they appear to be adopted by con- 
sent as characteristic of Switzerland ; for they are 
sculptured, as already noticed, beneath the inscrip- 
tion on the bridge in the valley of Schams, though 
in the Grisons. Would a whole state fall into 
this error, and leave a bewildered doubter to 
throw discredit upon the history of one so dis- 
tinguished as a patriot as William Tell ? But 
there is strong evidence of its truth in one place, 
at the chapel on the Tellen-platte, the rock at the 
foot of the Achsenberg, upon which Tell, in the 
storm, leapt when he escaped from the boat of 
Gesler. Only thirty years after Tell's death, 
which happened in the year 1358, this chapel 
was built to commemorate the event of his escape, 
and a series of pictures in fresco on the walls 
represent the principal events of his life : shooting 
at the apple on his son's head is one of the series. 
In the year of the completion of this chapel, 1388, 
at the general assembly of the people, there were 
present one hundred and fourteen persons who 
had known Tell during his life : these would not 
have allowed a falsehood to be recorded to aid, by 
the addition of romance, the immortal reputation 
of their countryman. 



TELLEN-PLATTE. 339 

There is an air of still life about Altorf, as if it 
had never recovered from the devastation of the fire 
in 1799, which nearly destroyed the whole town : 
many houses are uninhabited, and many more 
uninhabitable ; but the large overhanging roofs, 
the peculiar construction of the houses, and the 
costume of the people, impress the stranger forcibly 
with a sense of the novelty of his situation. The 
mountains which immediately surround the town 
are richly wooded, and the soil cultivated in the 
valley, highly productive. 'The new carriage-road 
over the St. Gothard will do much for the canton 
of Uri, and especially on the line of its course, by 
giving occupation to the inhabitants, and lessening 
that poverty, which now seeks, in busy idleness, 
the alms of the stranger. 

I started early for Fluelen, the little port of 
Altorf, on the lake of Uri, and engaged a bark 
and two men, for thirteen francs, to take me to 
Lucerne, visiting by the way Tell's chapel and 
Gersau. From the port we soon reached the 
Tellen-platte, and landed. None but a man ac- 
quainted with the country could have ventured to 
spring on shore on this rock, and hope to escape. 
At the chapel there is an annual fete : mass is 
performed, and hundreds of the peasantry, in their 
barges, surround the rock and the chapel, and 
present a scene of deep interest, and of such 
humble devotion and proud patriotism, that, 



340 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



however anomalous it may be elsewhere, church 
and state are on this occasion justly united to give 
expression to their grateful commemoration of the 
mercies received by their forefathers. Simond, in 
his " Switzerland," makes a mistake in asserting 
that the floor of the chapel is not more than three 
feet above the water ; and as the chapel is never 
injured by the storms of the lake, asks his readers 
to form an estimate of such tempests as alarmed 
Gesler. But the floor of the chapel is more than 
twelve feet above the lake ; and he forgets his own 
comments upon Swiss boat-building, for if the bark 
of Gesler was like the wretched boats which now 
ply on the lake of the Waldstetten, a little storm 
would occasion great danger. 

The scene, when lying off the chapel, of that 
portion of it which is called the Lake of Uri, is 
very impressive. The mountain bases sink ab- 
ruptly to the lake, and their summits rise boldly 
from 4000 to 8000 feet above it. The precipitous 
faces of the Achsenberg are among the grandest of 
these objects ; and looking back on the valley of 
the Reuss, the glaciered summits of the Surenen 
Alps bound the valley. This part of the lake is 
the deepest, being in some places 600 feet. 

I did not land at Grutli, which was pointed 
out to me on the shores, nearly opposite to 
Brunnen. The boatmen — the knaves! — per- 
suaded me, that if I rested, as I proposed to do, 



GERSAU. 



341 



at Gersau, we should arrive too late at Lucerne. 
It is impossible to create by description any just 
idea of the beauties of the Lake of the Four Cantons. 
From Fluelen, its direction is nearly due north to 
Brunnen, the port of the canton of Schwyz ; 
thence to Stanz its course is west ; afterwards pass- 
ing by an opening to the north, above Gersau it 
again takes a course nearly westerly to Lucerne; its 
whole length from the port of Altorf to Lucerne is 
above nine leagues. From the sinuous plan of the 
lake, and the infinite variety in character of the 
mountains, the forests, and the meadows, the towns 
and hamlets, on its shores, each turn presented a 
new view, and I enjoyed its magnificent scenery 
in one of the finest days that ever brightened its 
surface. I put in at Gersau, formerly the capital 
of the smallest republic in Switzerland, but which 
preserved its integrity above 400 years : my boat- 
men were glad to rest in the heat of the day. 
I dined there ; and a peculiar fish, smooth as an 
eel, was served, but any thing more diabolical in 
taste was never placed before a traveller : the 
name of it has escaped my recollection. 

From Gersau we rowed on to Lucerne, and I 
arrived there early enough to enjoy a walk about 
the city and its environs. The great lion of Lu- 
cerne, the sight which no stranger fails to visit, 
is the colossal Lion of Thorwaldsen, placed here 
to commemorate the heroism and devotion of the 



342 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Swiss Guards, who fell in defence of the Tuileries, 
August 10th, 1792. This monument was executed 
by subscription : the thought was suggested by- 
Colonel Pfyffer, one of the survivors of that dread- 
ful massacre of the Swiss. The subject is treated 
with great poetical skill. A lion pierced with a 
lance is dying, and covering with his body a 
shield, which bears the emblem of the fleur-de-lis. 
It is difficult by description, and even by a draw- 
ing, to give an idea of its effect ; for many go ex- 
pecting only to see something common-place, or at 
most, pretty ; but whether it is that its magnitude, 
or its very appropriate site, aids the design of the 
monument to excite a powerful emotion in the ob- 
server, it fails not to produce this effect. The face of 
the rock was made smooth, in which an excavation, 
forty -four feet long and twenty-eight high, formed 
a recess in which the lion lies, in bold and complete 
relief, cut out of the rock. The lion is twenty-eight 
feet long and eighteen high, and the execution of 
it was entrusted to a young sculptor of the name 
of Ahorn, of Constance. Pfyffer suggested to 
Thorwaldsen the way in which the subject should 
be treated, and Thorwaldsen modelled it, and sent 
a cast in plaster of the design. Above the grotto 
is inscribed Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti ; below it, 
the names of the officers and soldiers who perished ; 
and of the few survivors of that dreadful day, who 
had contributed to the erection of this memorial. 



MONUMENT AT LUCERNE. 



343 



A piece of running water bathes the base of the 
rock, and prevents a near approach to the monu- 
ment. Shrubs and creeping plants are led about 
the top ; and trees are so planted and arranged, 
that the effect of the whole is striking from many 
points of view. But whatever may be the taste 
of this memorial of the valour and fidelity of the 
Swiss, it records only an instance of mercenary 
servitude faithfully performed. Where are the 
public memorials of those brave Swiss — nobly and 
honourably brave — who fought the battles of their 
own country, — of those heroes of Lucerne, Gun- 
doldingen, the Hertensteins, and others, who fought 
against the princes of Austria and Burgundy, and 
drove the invader and oppressor from their hearths, 
and established their freedom and the indepen- 
dence of their country ? They will be remembered 
in the history of Switzerland when this record of 
the servile soldiership of their descendants has 
perished. 

Sept. 8th. — I engaged a char last evening to 
take me to Winkel. On driving out of Lucerne I 
met great numbers of the peasantry crowding to 
the city, dressed in their gayest costume : it was an 
annual festival — a public and national thanksgiv- 
ing for the blessings of the harvest. This grateful 
acknowledgment of mercies received, belongs not 
to any particular religion, but is due from all 
mankind ; but it is only, however, I believe, in 



344 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 

Switzerland, that a clay is annually set apart for 
this sacred duty. About an hour's drive brought 
me to Winkel, a little port, where I took a boat 
and crossed that beautiful portion of the Lake of 
the Four Cantons which bears the name of the 
Lake of Alpnach. On the way we passed part of 
the base of Mont Pilate, and observed the steam 
of the cauldron issuing from its apex — that pecu- 
liar appearance of the clouds rising from the lake 
on its summit, with which so many wild tradi- 
tions of the mountain are associated. We left 
Stanzsted, or the port of Stanz, on the opposite 
shore. I had the pleasure of accommodating an 
English party in the boat I had hired ; and they, 
in return, allowed me to be their companion 
in a char they engaged to go as far as Lunger n. 
We saw a part of the ruins of the celebrated 
slide of Alpnach, which has been so interestingly 
described by Professor Playfair; but its course 
could not be traced beyond the shore. The object 
of establishing this slide was to bring down the 
large pine-trees from the forests high up Mont 
Pilate. After discharging them into the lake, they 
were taken, by the Reuss, the Aar, and the Rhine, 
through a course of a thousand miles, to the 
arsenals of Holland, on the German Ocean, 
where Napoleon had contracted for all the timber 
which could be so transported. The rapidity and 
force with which the trees were brought down, left 



ALPNACH. 



345 



the observer equally astonished at the fact and the 
contrivance. They were brought down from an 
elevation of 2500 feet, by a slide nearly eight miles 
and a half in length, which was carried across three 
ravines, one of them 150 feet deep : sometimes 
underground, but generally following the tortuous 
projections of the mountain, its declivity varying, 
with an average only one foot in 17 feet and a half; 
yet trees 100 feet in length, placed root-end fore- 
most into the trough at the top, were discharged 
in six minutes into the lake ! The peace of 1815 
rendered this magnificent undertaking unprofit- 
able, and it has since been allowed to go to decay : 
the last use made of it was to bring down timber 
to be employed in the building of the new church 
and spire at Alpnach. We saw this church — the 
finest modern ecclesiastical structure in Switzer- 
land. 

From the village of Alpnach the road ascends 
to the neat little Swiss town of Sarnen, situated 
at the northern extremity of its lake. Here there 
is a saint in high odour, Nicolas de Flue — one 
who was born in the neighbourhood ; and how- 
ever true the proverb may be, that prophets have 
no honour in their own country, it is clear that 
it does not apply to saints, for the people around 
the lake of Sarnen appear never to have heard of 
any other object of adoration than St, Nicolas (Nic 
is an odd name for a saint!) de Flue. 

q 2 



346 EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



From the upper extremity of the lake the road 
abruptly ascends a hill called the Kaiserstuhl, 
which forms the embankment of the lake of 
Lungern, and separates it from the lake of Sarnen. 
From this ascent, the lake of Sarnen, Mont Pi- 
late, and the distant Rigi, are fine objects. At 
Lungern the road ceased to be practicable for 
chars; and the ladies of the party I had joined, 
having hired mules, proceeded with guides ; I 
went on foot to reach the Brunig by a shorter 
road, which lies through scenes that are beauti- 
ful, from their retired and sylvan character, and 
in which, for some time, I saw nothing to remind 
me of my proximity to the Alps. On attaining 
the summit I found a toll-house and a station of 
gens-d'armes : they appeared to be out of place 
here. The view from the station is very beautiful. 
From the western side of the Brunig two roads 
branch off : one, on the right, leads to the lake of 
Brientz ; the other, to Meyringen and the Ober- 
hasli. The party that had ascended by the mule- 
path soon joined, and we altogether proceeded to 
Meyringen. The valley in which this village is 
situated was presently seen below us, bounded on 
the right by the mountains of the pass of the Grand 
Scheidegg — the Wetterhorn, and Eiger, and in the 
extreme distance by the glaciers of the Aar and 
the mountains of the Grimsel. In the valley to 
which we descended, skirting a fine forest, we saw 



MEYRINGEN. 



347 



numerous villages and pasturages. The situa- 
tion of the falls of the Reichenbach was pointed 
out to us ; but, large as are the masses of water 
when near them, here, from the magnitude of the 
objects around, they were almost undistinguish- 
able. We reached Mevringen too late to visit the 
falls before dark. 



348 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Falls of Reichenbach — Imgrund — Handek — Falls of the Aar 
— Scbnaps — Hollen-platte — Hospice of the Grimsel — 
Travellers — Todten-See — Glaciers of the Rhone — Ober- 
wald — Obergestelen — Eginenthal — Glacier of the Gries — 
Lammergayer — Kehrbachi — Fall of the Toccia — For- 
mazza — Val Formazza — Val Antigorio — St. Marco — 
Crevola — Val d'Ossola. 

Sept. 9th. — I engaged a guide, Hans Schmit, to 
accompany me over the Grimsel, the Gries, and 
the Simplon. He had no mule of his own, but he 
borrowed one of a lad, who made it a condition 
that he should accompany us, not with any con- 
sideration for his services, but, as he was a young 
guide, to become acquainted with a line of country 
he had not visited. Whilst the mule was getting 
ready, Hans conducted me across the valley to the 
falls of the Reichenbach ; but, fine as they un- 
questionably are, there was nothing so striking in 
their locality or their magnitude as to make them 
worth any extraordinary trouble to visit. 

Meyringen, not far from the head of the Lake 
of Brientz, is at the foot of the Scheidegg, the 



OBERHASLI. 



349 



Brunig, the valleys leading to the Titlis, and the 
Oberhasli leading to the Grimsel : it is well-culti- 
vated, richly wooded, and abounding in celebrated 
waterfalls and fine ruins. The Vale of Meyringen 
concentrates as much of what is alpine in its 
beauties as any valley in Switzerland. 

My companions across the Brunig had started 
early for Grindenwald by the Grand Scheidegg. 
In ascending towards the Grimsel from Meyrin- 
gen, the head of the plain is soon attained, and 
thence the road rises rather abruptly above a deep 
fissure cut by the Aar through the rocks which 
separate, like an embankment, the vale of Mey- 
ringen from that of Imgrund. The view of the 
former valley is beautiful from the ascent to this 
embankment ; and the road lies amidst numerous 
beeches and other trees, which reminded me of 
similar forest scenes in England . The little plain 
of Imgrund associates with itself every pleasurable 
emotion which a pastoral life can excite, — a place 
where Gesner might have dreamt his life away, it 
seems so separated from the busy scenes of the 
world. From Imgrund the road rapidly ascends 
through forests of larch and beech, and often over- 
hangs at a great height the deep torrent of the 
Aar; thence descending towards the river in a 
narrow valley, I soon reached Guttanen, the last 
village where there is an inn in the ascent to 
the Grimsel. Here I rested a short time. From 



350 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Guttanen, the difficulties of the road and the sterility 
of the valley increase. The Aar is twice crossed 
before reaching Handek, where a few chalets are 
established amidst glaciers and cataracts, and 
scenes the most stupendous, savage, and dreary. 
At a short distance from the chalets is the great 
fall of the Aar, where two torrents joining at 
the head of the M hell of waters," fall together 
with a horrible fracas into a deep gulf, which 
the traveller can overhang from some project- 
ing rocks above, by clinging to a pine-tree ; but 
the base is concealed from him by the mist that 
hovers over the basin which receives the tor- 
rents. Deep in the ravine the Aar is seen to 
pass on, a mere line, white from its foaming 
amidst the rocks that confine it : beyond lies the 
distant valley and the mountains which bound the 
horizon. 

The fall can be seen from below at a station 
where less sense of danger is excited, but the effect 
of the scene is not so striking as from the head of 
the cataract. From the fall, my guides introduced 
me to a chalet at Handek where some men were 
engaged with a still, extracting a strong spirit 
from the root of a variety of gentian : they 
smacked their lips in approbation, after taking off 
their glasses of these schnaps. I never tasted 
any thing so detestable • I could not get rid of 
the villanous flavour for many hours. 



FALL OF THE AAR HANDEK. 



351 



Above Handek the barren and savage character 
of the valley increases ; and about half a league 
beyond the chalets, the road, rising high above 
the torrent of the Aar, and on the brink of a preci- 
pice, passes over the smooth, convex, and inclined 
surfaces of masses of granite of great extent ; these 
are worn smooth by avalanches which have swept 
away the barriers that, from time to time, have 
been raised to guard the traveller in this fearful 
part of the passage, which is particularly danger- 
ous when the surface has been wet and has frozen. 
I dismounted here at the request and precaution 
of my guide, as a slip of the mule's foot would be 
inevitable destruction, and it is a situation in which 
a man can find in his own feet greater security. 
Hans told me, that upon one occasion a person 
whom he accompanied chose to ride, in spite of 
remonstrance ; the mule slipped, the guide seized 
the clothes of the traveller, whose feet were fortu- 
nately out of the stirrups, and saved him ; but the 
mule fell over the precipice into the gulf, and was 
destroyed. The largest surface bears the name of 
the Hollen-platte, and is 120 paces across. 

From Handek to the hospice of the Grimsel, the 
Aar is often traversed on bridges, which appear to 
be ill constructed, and in situations so dreary as to 
excite ideas of danger which do not in reality exist, 
though the foaming torrent of the Aar, as it passes 
beneath, would leave any escape from accident 



352 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



hopeless. There is, at a short distance from the 
worst of these, some relief from this idea of danger, 
if not from dreariness, at a little pasturage called 
Roderichs-boden ; about a league beyond, and over 
a road still rugged and sterile, the traveller reaches 
the hospice of the Grimsel, situated 6000 feet above 
the level of the sea, where, during what is con- 
sidered the season, scarcely a day passes without 
visitors ; and often these are too numerous for the 
accommodations which have been provided. On 
my way from Roderichs-boden I overtook a flock 
of goats, and catching one, milked her into my 
leathern cup, and obtained a delicious and refresh- 
ing draught. 

The hospice is an inn, and the man who holds 
it is appointed to remain there from March to 
November, to assist poor travellers gratis ; the 
expense is met by subscriptions in Berne, Geneva, 
and other cantons of Switzerland : the situation of 
the hospice is extremely dreaiy ; it is surrounded 
by naked rocks, and on the brink of a little dark 
lake, rendered darker by contrast with patches and 
beds of snow, which lie unmelted through the year 
on its shores. I did not visit the glaciers of the 
Aar, in the vicinity of the hospice, which are said 
to deserve an examination : their vast extent, in 
connexion with others, exceeds belief ; but with- 
drawn from the world as these tremendous scenes 
are, they were, nevertheless, the sites of military 



HOSPICE OF THE GRIMSEL. 



353 



manoeuvres and skirmishes between the Austrians 
and the French, during the campaigns of 1799, 
where hundreds perished. 

At the hospice I found several English ramblers, 
who had arrived from many points — the Furca, 
the Valais, and the Oberhasli, and whose destina- 
tions in the morning were as various. At a table- 
d'hote supper, the assembly was rather motley : 
one, who talked loud and long, told us he had, 
with his sister — a red-faced, stout, vulgar-looking 
woman, then at the table — crossed all the passes 
of the Alps. I enjoyed the fun of obtaining nega- 
tives to my inquiries respecting particular passes, 
and embarrassing him so as at length to stop his 
volubility, for which I was nearly withered by a 
gorgon look from his sister. We retired early to 
our respective chambers. 

10th. — The morning was very cold ; most of 
the travellers met to take coffee before their de- 
parture. On the steps of the hospice I saw a young 
woman, whom Hans recognised as a girl from the 
pave at Berne ; and upon his inquiries about her 
being at the hospice, he learnt that she had left it 
to accompany the Englishman and his sister, he 
having promised to take her to England ; but that 
she was getting tired of the treatment she received, 
in bearing all the baggage of the party, and walk- 
ing so much. They were going to cross the Furca; 
and as far as the glaciers of the Rhone, they started 



354 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



to go a route in common with myself. I saw the 
poor wench without bonnet or cloak, and ap- 
parently without any baggage of her own, laden 
with that of both her companions, and dragging 
up the fat sister, who had taken her arm, whilst 
the gentleman strolled at his ease and his leisure 
up the steep path to attain the col of the Grimsel. 
There were circumstances about the party which 
excited the attention of all, but a mystery which 
none could unravel. Hans thought there was some- 
thing about it as villanous as it was vulgar. 

It was a short hour's walk from the hospice to 
the summit, which has an elevation, according to 
Saussure, of 7224 English feet. Nothing can ex- 
ceed the dreary prospects presented to us there — 
the bare and rocky ground, relieved only by patches 
of snow on the borders of a small still lake on the 
Valais side of the mountain, which bears a name 
as miserable as its aspect, the Todten-See; and be- 
yond the rocks which surround the lake, nothing 
is seen but the tops of the mountains in the chain 
of the high Alps, bare, or clothed in eternal snows. 
" On l'appelle Todten-Seelen, on le lac des morts" 
says Saussure, " parce qu'on y jette les corps de 
ceux qui meurent en passant la montagne;" but 
Saussure has applied this name in error to the 
lake on the borders of which the hospice is built, 
which is the Klein-See ; and the story of throwing 
the dead there is incorrect. 



GLACIERS OF THE RHONE. 



355 



From the summit two roads diverge ; the one 
on the right leads direct to Obergestelen — that on 
the left to the glaciers of the Rhone. The descent 
to these glaciers is by a steep and rather difficult 
path. The first view of them from this route is, 
perhaps, the most striking in which they can be 
seen, because their entire mass is observed, from 
the summit of the Galenstoc to the base, bounded 
on the sides by the passage of the Furca, which 
leads to the St. Gothard. The source of the Rhone 
is usually visited from below, where the nearest 
mass intercepting the highest, leaves an impres- 
sion greatly inferior to that which the vast whole 
produces. From the glaciers the road descends to 
Oberwald, at first across a marshy little plain, and 
then by a rapid path in the glen, below which 
the Rhone, already a torrent, foams its way. 

After descending for some time over a rudely 
paved path, and through a little pine-forest, near 
a chapel, the traveller is struck by a beautiful view 
of the Haut-Valais, with the villages of Oberwald, 
Obergestelen, and the mountains of the high range 
of the Alps, extending to the Simplon. Near 
Oberwald we met a party of travellers going to 
the source of the Rhone, and thence to the hospice 
of the Grimsel. The guides, known to each other, 
began a conversation, which became general. An 
elderly gentleman of the party, upon hearing that 
I was going to cross the Gries, begged, if I met a 



356 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



person whom he described, that I would inform 
him that his uncle would wait for him at the hos- 
pice. This gentleman had a companion, a Greek : 
he was strolling, with his hands in his breeches' 
pockets — listless, uninterested, and utterly out of 
place in the Alps. 

Oberwald affords no resting-place ; but ac- 
commodation and civility very different from that 
which Saussure experienced there, ("Voyages dans 
les Alps"), is now offered to the traveller at Ober- 
gestelen — a village which was a great depot for 
cheese, sent from Switzerland across the Grimsel 
and the Gries into the north of Italy ; but the 
formation of the great roads across the Alps has 
lessened the traffic which was formerly carried on 
over the passes traversable only by mules. We 
rested at the inn to refresh the mule and our- 
selves. 

To proceed towards the Gries, we crossed the 
Rhone a little below Obergestelen, and descended 
through a forest of larches on the left bank of 
the river, for about half an hour ; then turning 
through the village of Imloch, in the Eginenthal, 
a valley which descends from the Gries, the path 
rose towards this mountain, through a deep glen, 
in which there was a fine waterfall, and amidst vast 
larches, part of whose roots, trunks, and branches, 
overhung the torrent which descends from the 
Gries, and added greatly to the wildness of this 



GLACIER AND SUMMIT OF THE GRIES. 357 

part of the passage. Soon after, a rapid ascent 
led us above the vegetation of the larch, and the 
scene became as sterile and as savage as the ap- 
proach to the Grimsel above Handek. In this 
part of the valley I met the expected traveller by 
the Gries, and delivered my message, for which 
I had his thanks, and the offer of a taste from his 
bottle of kirschen-wasser. At length the valley 
terminated in the glacier of the Gries, which ap- 
peared to forbid all farther progress ; yet the route 
to the Val Formazza lay directly across it. On 
the left, and before arriving at the glacier, a 
difficult mountain-path led across the Mont Lu- 
vino to Naufanen, and by the Val Bedretto to 
Airolo, at the foot of the St. Gothard. Before 
climbing the last ascent of the Gries, I fortunately 
obtained some milk at a chalet, and prepared to 
proceed on foot, as neither on the ascent nor 
descent would riding have been humane or 
prudent. 

The path by which the summit of the Gries 
was to be gained was very difficult, though prac- 
ticable for laden mules : after attaining it, on 
looking back, I was surprised to see, on the left, 
high above the valley of Egina, and higher even 
than the glaciers of the Gries, chalets and rich 
mountain -pasturages, speckled with cattle; and 
beyond the valley of Egina, which I had tra- 
versed, I saw the summits of the mountains of the 



358 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Oberland-Bernois. A perfectly safe path led, in 
twenty minutes, across the glacier of the Gries. 
Bare and scathed rocks rose on either side in 
terrible grandeur out of the glaciers to an im- 
mense height ; the silence of the place added 
greatly to its sublimity; and I saw in this most 
appropriate spot, one of the large eagles of the 
Alps, the lammergayer, which was whirling its 
flight around a mountain-peak, and increased the 
deep emotion excited by the solitude of the scene. 
The river Toccia has its rise in the glaciers of 
the Gries, whence it flows through the valleys of 
Formazza, Antigorio, and Ossola, to the Lago 
Maggiore. The greatest height of the pass is 7900 
feet above the level of the sea. 

After leaving the glaciers, the road that pro- 
ceeded towards Italy by the Val Formazza rapidly 
descended the side of the mountain, which was 
very steep ; and so worn were the paths by travel- 
lers and cattle, that many of them were impass- 
able to laden mules, as the ruts were narrow, 
and so deep that the load would drag or rest on 
either side of the bank of the rut, when the mule's 
feet were on the bottom of the path; in many places 
it was a mere gutter, three or four feet deep, with- 
out room enough for the arms to swing freely be- 
tween the banks. We soon arrived at the bottom 
of the first slope, whence we successively reached 
little plains, which appeared to have been formed 



FALL OF THE TOCCIA. 



359 



where mountain-falls had laid barriers or embank- 
ments across the valley, which were afterwards 
filled up by deposits from the torrent. From one 
of these little plains to another below it, the de- 
scent was rapid and sometimes difficult. They 
were, considering their great elevation, rich in 
pasturage ; and the cheese made there has a 
great celebrity. These plains are only inhabited 
in summer, except the lowest, where a little 
cluster of chalets, called Kehrbachi, is sometimes 
inhabited throughout the year. We had pre- 
viously passed a deserted village of a dozen or 
twenty chalets ; and this addition to the desola- 
tion of the high valley was more dreary and 
melancholy than any spot I had yet visited in the 
Alps. The road still descended steeply, and led 
to another plain, where the trees and the vege- 
tation of a lower region began to relieve the 
tedium which the dreary passage of the Gries 
produced, and after passing a glen, we entered 
unexpectedly upon a beautiful little plain, where 
the Toccia flows quietly through the little hamlet 
and valley of Auf-der-Frut : at the termination of 
the plain, there was a small chapel and a cross on 
the brink of a shelf of rocks of great depth and 
extent. But the famous fall of the Toccia was un- 
seen and unsuspected until I arrived at the edge of 
its summit, whence a difficult and zig-zag path led 
down on the left bank of the torrent. Saussure 



360 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



describes this fall of the Toccia as the most re- 
markable cascade in the Alps. From below, the 
appearance of the fall was very striking, though, 
perhaps, not very picturesque ; the river tumbles 
over ledges of rock in a cascade, extending at least 
a thousand feet in length, spreading out broadly 
at its base, and presenting from every point of 
view a remarkable and beautiful scene. About an 
hour's walk below the fall we reached Fructval, 
where Hans recommended our staying for the 
night, and where, he said, we could obtain better 
refreshment and better accommodation than at 
Formazza, though this was a larger place, and 
boasted of possessing an inn. 

Sept. Wth. — The misery and discomfort of 
my lodgings at Fructval left it impossible for 
my imagination to descend to what could be worse 
at Formazza. Before I started, I had some 
conversation with mine host, who described the 
winters here as being very severe : he pointed out 
to me the height which the level snow had at- 
tained in the preceding winter, when it reached 
to the roof of his house. In the descent from 
Fructval to Formazza, a deep valley, fringed with 
pines, lay on the right of the road, and beyond it 
I saw the village of Formazza in its little plain, 
lying amidst the surrounding mountains. The 
language of the inhabitants of the upper part of 
this valley is German, and below Fopiano, Italian : 



VAL FORMAZZA. 



361 



the traveller sometimes suffers by the confusion 
which arises from German and Italian names 
being given to one place ; thus Formazza and 
Al Ponte, in Italian, and Zumsteck and Pommat, 
in German, are all names for the same village ; 
its distance from Obergestelen is about eight hours. 
Near Fopiano, the road, after descending through 
a forest of firs, crossed the torrent by a bridge, in 
a very wild situation : vast blocks of granite filled 
the bed of the Toccia, amidst which the water 
forced its way, and passing beneath the old arch, 
made in its descent between the rocks a fearful 
noise. The scene in this gorge, for a short 
distance, was magnificent; below it the valley 
widened, and the road continued, often amidst 
blocks of granite of such enormous magnitude, 
that upon one of these the ruins of a feudal castle 
remained ; and upon several, forest-trees were 
growing. In one place, near a bridge which 
leads by a path to the left bank of the river, the 
road passed between two of these great masses 
of granite. The ruins of a village, which had 
been destroyed by a mountain-fall, lay near the 
road, amidst the debris which had overwhelmed 
it. Observing some water-cresses in a brook, I 
was tempted to rest here, and with a biscuit from 
my bag enjoyed a temperate luncheon. I was 
amused and surprised at the horror expressed by 
the guides, who tried to dissuade me from eating 

R 



362 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



what they assured me was poisonous, and referred 
to its pungent flavour for proof. Is it possible 
that this delicious salad is unknown to the people 
of Meyringen? 

A little beyond where the character of wild- 
ness and confusion was produced by the blocks 
which strewed the valley, between which the 
mule wound its way, a vast, smooth, and un- 
broken face of granite rose 400 or 500 feet 
above us, and in one place actually overhung 
the road, exciting fearful emotions. From the 
top a large tabular mass projected many feet, 
of which the plane under side was seen from 
below, threatening one day to fall from its present 
apparently insecure station. Pines and other 
forest -trees are growing on its upper surface, 
and the increasing weight of these will perhaps 
hasten the catastrophe. A wise precaution, how- 
ever, had been adopted against this probable 
accident : a picture of the Virgin had been fastened 
to the face of the rock below, and the peasantry 
passed now with perfect confidence beneath it. 
A little beyond St. Rocco, the first vines an- 
nounced the approach to Italy : walnut and chest- 
nut-trees attained here a great size, and vegetation 
was luxurious. 

Near St. Michel the valley widened, and we 
proceeded through some beautiful scenes, not im- 
proved by a Catholic vagary — a procession of the 



VAL ANTIGORIO. 363 

villagers to a Calvary. Having passed through 
the village of Premia, we crossed the river which 
descends from Mont Albrun, and falls into the 
Toccia : below this confluence the valley loses the 
name of Formazza, and takes that of Antigorio. 
Nearly a league from the confluence was the vil- 
lage of Crodo, where a Sardinian custom-house was 
stationed. Between Crodo and St. Marco the road 
twice crossed the Toccia, amidst pleasing and 
various scenery, where the air was perfumed by 
the purple cyclamen, which covered the banks and 
hedges more thickly than primroses are found in 
England. A little beyond St. Marco a prospect of 
great beauty was presented : in the distance I saw 
Domo d'Ossola, surrounded by the fine mountains 
which bound the Val d'Ossola ; and beneath me 
lay a little plain watered by the Toccia, which 
flowed through it. The road towards Crevola 
continued on the right bank of the river, amidst 
scenes of great richness ; and at every turn some 
beautiful view was presented. Near Crevola the 
road from St. Marco fell into the great route of 
the Simplon, which, after passing the celebrated 
bridge of Crevola upon that route, led to the 
town of Domo d'Ossola. 

The pass of the Gries is little known, and no 
military events are recorded which have inflicted 
the curses of war upon the quiet inhabitants of 
the Val Formazza. During the demand for the 



364 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



services of the Swiss, in the wars of the 15th 
century, some divisions of their troops passed by 
the Gries ; and when Switzerland became the 
scene of contest between the Russians and the 
French, the latter availed themselves of this pass 
for the march of a portion of their troops, but 
no sites are pointed out as stained by battles. 
The travelling historian, therefore, may be dis- 
appointed in his passage of the Gries; but the 
artist, and the lover of the wild and the beautiful 
in nature, cannot fail to remember with pleasure 
the scenes presented to them in their excursion 
by this passage of the Alps. 



365 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Dorao d'Ossola — A Man in Authority — Bridge of Crevola — 
Val Dovedro — Gondo — Waterfalls — Great Gallery — 
Algaby — Simplon Village — Landlady — Ascent to the 
Summit — View of the Bernese Alps — Friends en route — 
Brigg — Tourtemagne — Valais — Lausanne — Steam-boat — 
Nyon — Home. 

Sept. '13th. — I had sent the servant of the 
post-house where I slept, to the station of cara- 
bineers, to obtain the necessary signature to my 
passport, and permission for my guides to pass 
into the Valais by the Simplon. After waiting 
above an hour, I sent again, and sent Hans with 
him : another hour was wasted— the commandant, 
they said, refused to be disturbed. This did not 
suit my English feelings ; I determined to go 
myself. I was told he was not up, and I could 
not see him. I insisted upon seeing him, as I 
had already been detained two hours beyond the 
time when my passport ought to have been ready. 
In short, I made a row, which disturbed the chief, 
who asked what the matter was ; and learning 
that I was a traveller applying about my passport, 

r 2 



366 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



he desired me to walk up to his room, where he 
received me in his nightcap. On being informed 
how long I had been delayed, he apologised in the 
most gentlemanly way for the inconvenience he 
had put me to, and declared, that until my own 
application awoke him he was ignorant that any 
signature had been applied for. It was imme- 
diately given; and whilst I was there the persons 
who had refused to disturb his slumbers were 
ordered up and severely reprimanded for having 
subjected him to the suspicion of incivility and dis- 
regard to his official duties, especially when they 
were wanted so urgently by a stranger. The 
poor understrappers shrugged their shoulders, and 
looked as if they had witnessed a well-acted lie. 

It was nearly nine o'clock before we got away. 
The morning was fine. We retraced our route 
of yesterday to the bridge of Crevola, and then 
entered the Val Dovedro, and turned round to 
take leave of Italy at that point ; whence every 
traveller on his way by this route to its classic 
soils first sees the beautiful Val d'Ossola lying 
before him ; where the bridge of Crevola is seen, 
by which the deep gorge of the Dovedro is 
crossed to enter the plain of the Val d'Ossola; 
it is one of the finest structures of its class in 
the world. A pier is built from the bed of the 
torrent to the height of 100 feet; resting upon 
this, and the magnificent buttresses which are 



VAL DOVEDRO. 



367 



built up from the face of the rocks on either 
side, beams of the imperishable larch are thrown 
across, and carpentry of admirable structure sup- 
ports the bridge. It is one of the few works of 
man which, surrounded by vast objects in nature, 
is not driven into insignificance. 

Soon after leaving the bridge of Crevola we 
passed the village of Morgantino, where the quar- 
ries are worked for the white marble used at 
Milan for the triumphal arch of the Strada Sem- 
pione ; thence we soon reached the first gallery, 
which is about 200 feet long, with a lateral 
opening for giving light to the passage. Above 
this place the valley widened and soon spread out 
on the right into a delightfully wooded plain, in 
which are the villages of Dovedro and Varzo : 
thence we proceeded up the valley : after cross- 
ing the torrent of the Cherasca, the rocks closed 
abruptly upon us, and we passed through a fearful 
defile. From this gorge we escaped near Tras- 
quera, and entered upon the little commune of 
Isella, where the Sardinian custom-house is esta- 
blished on the frontier : here our passports were 
examined. 

Above Isella the real horrors of the Val Do- 
vedro begin. We soon reached the village of 
Gondo, where a strange-looking lofty building, 
like a great tower, serves as an inn and a place 
of refuge for travellers ; here we rested the mule. 



368 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



The scenery around and near Gondo is sublimely 
savage. A torrent rushes out on the left and 
forms a magnificent cataract. One of the striking 
features of the pass of the Simplon is the number 
and variety of the waterfalls in the Val Dovedro. 
Sometimes they gush out abruptly from some 
lateral gorges, and mingle their torrents furiously 
with the river ; at others, they descend, broken 
in their fall into mists, from the height of the 
summits of the vast rocks which overhang the 
road. Some are seen forming cascades, and mov- 
ing in white foaming lines down the smooth faces 
of rocks which slope into the Dovedro. 

After leaving Gondo, we turned rather abruptly 
into one of the finest parts of the pass, where the 
rocks rise like towers abruptly from the valley, 
and threaten to overwhelm the traveller. Here 
the road is admirably constructed upon the debris 
of these overhanging masses. Ascending by a zig- 
zag course, we soon reached the celebrated gallery 
of Gondo, which we entered by a bridge thrown 
across the cataract of the Frassinone, that descends 
from a great height above, and falls at least 100 
feet below the bridge, into the torrent of the Do- 
vedro. The immediate approach to the gallery from 
the Italian side offers perhaps the finest assemblage 
of objects, to excite an emotion of the sublime, that 
is any where to be found in the Alps ; yet a part of 
its effect is lessened by seeing it some time before 



GREAT GALLERY NEAR GONDO. 369 



the gallery is entered. Having gone into Italy by 
this route in 1821, my recollection is vivid of the 
unexpected and awful impression received from 
this scene, by my bursting suddenly upon it from 
the gallery ; and I feel that, divesting myself of 
all consideration of a lessened interest from a re- 
visit and a want of novelty, the scenery of the 
Val Dovedro is much finer, from the more sud- 
den changes in the scenes, on approaching Italy, 
than on leaving it by the pass of the Simplon. 

The gallery itself is nearly 600 feet long: there 
are two lateral openings to illuminate it. Looking 
out from these, the abyss is awful, and the roar of 
the waters beneath appalling. Opposite to one of 
the openings cut in the rock, is a memento of its 
completion — .ere italo mdcccv. 

Gangs of workmen at each extremity, relieving 
one another day and night, worked eighteen months 
in the formation of this extraordinary excavation. 
Above the gallery the torrent is crossed, and the 
road ascends for some way on the right bank of 
the river, beneath the overhanging rocks, which 
almost conceal the heavens, and high above the 
torrent which foams in the gulf below : this is par- 
ticularly observed at the Ponte Alto, one of the 
finest bridges in the defile. Throughout this pas- 
sage there have been constructed, in various places, 
about two leagues apart, large buildings as houses 
of refuge for travellers overtaken by bad weather. 



370 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



Of these there are seven in the course of the 
route. 

After crossing the Ponte Alto, the road as- 
cends on the left bank to the gallery of Algaby, 
where the horrors of the Val Dovedro terminate ; 
for, having passed the Krumbach, the torrent 
which descends from the Simplon, the road makes 
a detour into a ravine, and thence rises rapidly to 
the village of Simplon. Here, though we arrived 
rather early, my guides entreated that I would rest 
for the night, as the journey had been incessant for 
the mule and themselves. I had a great desire to 
descend to Brigg; I dreaded detention, from a 
change of weather, for certain prognostics led me 
to expect that the fine skies I had so long been 
indulged with, were about to cease ; and I sus- 
pected the plan of resting at Simplon was to gain 
another day of employment ; I therefore offered to 
pay two days for one if they would proceed : they 
preferred remaining, and I agreed to stop, though 
not without some misgiving of the sort of treat- 
ment I should receive from madame, who had been 
so unlucky as to get a bad name, which had been 
scratched upon all the walls and glass of the 
inns on the line of road, describing her as very 
uncivil and extortionate. These hints in doggerel 
and in prose must have done her mischief; it had 
alarmed me. We entered the inn. She appeared 
a portly dame, well-dressed a la mode Fran§aise, 



INN AT SIMPLON. 



371 



who might have passed for a commander-in-chief 
of such an establishment upon the Bath road. She 
shewed me an excellent bed-room, and asked at 
what price I would dine, as she served at five 
and six francs ; or, if I would wait for the table- 
d'hote, at half-past six, at four francs. If the 
anger against her is for extravagant charges, her 
conduct to me at least was perfectly fair. I told 
her that I was too hungry to wait for the table- 
d'hote, that I really wanted a good dinner, and 
I left it to herself to charge me justly. In the 
salle-a-manger was a party that had arrived en 
voiture : two of them were priests ; and two more 
unprincipled rascals never betrayed their cha- 
racters, or dishonoured their calling, than these 
did by their conversation. 

Sept. 14th. — We left early, after I had taken 
coffee and paid a fair and moderate bill, in which 
my excellent dinner was charged, though left to her- 
self, the lowest price she had named ; and when it is 
considered that her table was supplied with viands 
brought twenty miles, it would be injustice not to 
say that my prejudices against the hostess were 
removed ; but though I was content, my guide 
and the lad who owned the mule were not. Poor 
Ritz Better, the latter, ended his abuse of the ex- 
tortionate charges made upon him by a hearty 
cry, to which Hans added all the curses he eould 



372 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



bring to bear upon the landlady's conduct and 
character. 

It was a fine fresh morning. As we ascended 
from the village to the summit of the Simplon, 
we saw the Rosboden and its glaciers on the left, 
mentioned in most guide-books as Monte Rosa, 
which, however, cannot be seen from the Sim- 
plon route. We soon entered upon the more open 
part of the mountain pasturages, leaving below us 
on the left the old hospice, and shortly after passed 
the site of the new one, in which no progress has 
been made since 1821. The summit, which is 6562 
feet above the level of the sea, is exposed to dread- 
ful storms, and it was for protection against these 
that the plan of a hospice was laid out, and the 
building commenced by order of Napoleon ; but 
little beyond raising the walls above the founda- 
tion was accomplished : its plan extended to two 
hundred feet in length, and seventy feet in width; 
it was intended to have been three stages high. 
Fifteen persons, monks and domestics, were to 
have formed the establishment, and have been 
dependent upon the Great St. Bernard; but it 
has been long delayed, if not relinquished. 

Not far from the new hospice is a refuge, and 
the toll-house or barrier, where six francs are paid 
for each horse — a tax levied for the conservation 
of the road. Close to the barrier the first view is 



VIEW OF THE BERNESE ALPS. 373 

obtained of the Valais side of the mountain : far 
distant, and in the lowest depth of the scene the 
town of Naters, in the valley of the Rhone, is 
perceived ; above and beyond rose in magnificent 
array the grandest portion of the Bernese Alps, 
including the Breithorn, the Jungfrau, and the 
Monch, crested with their glaciers, especially those, 
so extensive and distinguished, of the Alesch. On 
the right the route of the Simplon was seen wind- 
ing down the mountain side, and on the left the 
vast form of the Glyshorn bounded this most ex- 
traordinary alpine scene, of which I had full enjoy- 
ment during the time that the guides were settling 
about the mule at the barrier. A French traveller, 
on his way from Italy, stood with me gazing on 
the wondrous prospect. Whilst we yet looked, 
enormous clouds began to form, and roll down 
the side of the Glyshorn in immense volumes : 
the effect was one of the finest I ever witnessed ; 
but it was also a hint to hasten our departure. 
We soon passed the Glacier Gallery, which I 
found workmen extending, by building covered 
ways beyond the excavation, to guard against the 
fall of avalanches, to which this part of the road 
is exposed. This gallery is called the Glacier 
Gallery, from its proximity to the glaciers ; not 
as Mrs. Starke said, in the early editions of her 
work, because it was " cut through solid masses 
of ice!" 

s 



374 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



The road here is admirably constructed. The 
streams descending from the glaciers of the Schon- 
horn, are carried below the road by aqueducts. 
Soon after I had passed the Schalbet gallery, we 
met a carriage ascending; I was recognised by 
the travellers within it, and saluted by a hearty 
laugh, occasioned, I suspect, by my grotesque 
appearance so near the end of my rambles this 
season. I rode up, and had the pleasure of 
meeting two friends, R. A.s, thus far from home, 
on their way to Italy. After some hasty in- 
quiries we parted : already the change of weather 
had commenced, and the clouds soon concealed 
the grand objects around us. We rested a short 
time at Bersal, and then continued our descent, 
reaching Brigg early enough to determine me 
to make what progress I could down the Valais 
while it was light. I discharged my good-tem- 
pered civil guides at Brigg, who proposed re- 
turning up the Valais to the Grimsel to-morrow ; 
and ordering a char, was driven, in a mizzling 
rain, as far as Tourtemagne, where I was sheltered 
in a tolerable inn. 

15th. — The fine weather had broken up in 
the mountains, and I hastened to get out of the 
valleys. I engaged a char to take me to Sion, 
and drove there inclosed, for protection from the 
weather ; by this I lost nothing, as the surrounding 
objects were concealed by the clouds and rain. I 



LAUSANNE. 



375 



reached Sion early, and met at the table-d'hote 
the Frenchman who had gazed with me the day be- 
fore on the extraordinary formation of clouds on the 
Glyshorn. He proposed my joining him in a voi- 
ture, the driver agreeing to take us to St. Maurice 
before eight o'clock, which we accomplished. On 
the 16th I left St. Maurice at five o'clock in the 
morning by a diligence for Vevay. We rested to 
breakfast at Bex. My companions were agree- 
able, particularly a young French artist returning 
from Italy. On my arriving at Vevay, I ordered 
a char to take me in haste to Lausanne, before the 
departure of the steam-boat for Geneva, and we 
reached the capital of the Pays de Vaud in time, if 
it had started, but I was told by the master of the 
Hotel du Faucon that it would not depart that day. 
Not suspecting that for so beggarly a considera- 
tion as detaining. me at his table-d'hote, he would 
tell a lie, I made up my mind to dine at Lau- 
sanne, and proceed quietly afterwards in a char. 
I dined, and met some agreeable people ; but a 
conversation with one of them led to the suspi- 
cion that I had been deceived by the landlord ; 
and upon inquiry, I learnt, two hours after my 
arrival at Lausanne, that the steamer had just 
started, and that I might, by getting to Morges 
before it, be taken on board. I ordered another char 
and hastened from Lausanne to effect this object ; 
I saw the steamer pass Morges — I was five minutes 



376 



EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS. 



too late ! When I reached Nyon, the innkeeper 
advised me to stay there, as the gates of Geneva 
would be closed before I could arrive. I began 
to suspect the information of all innkeepers ; but, 
upon further inquiry, thought it advisable to stay, 
as the Paris diligence, by Dole, would pass through 
at eight o'clock on the following morning, and I 
might be able to obtain a place for France. On 
the morning of the 17th I was fortunate enough 
to find one in the cabriolet. I reached Paris on 
the 19th, and home on the 24th of September. 



THE END. 



LONDON: 

J. MOYES, CASTLE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE, 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS % 



020 142 471 9 



